incommode · verb — to make (someone) uncomfortable; to discomfort, to disturb, to trouble. It carries an Arena rating of 1622, earned across 200 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, incommode ranks #2,323 of 17,142 for Most Malleable Words, #3,162 of 17,171 for Funniest Words, #3,170 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,491 of 17,140 for Scariest Words.
incommode is pronounced /ˌɪnkəˈməʊd/.
Why “incommode” is a great word
INCOMMODE — [Verb] To cause inconvenience, discomfort, or trouble to someone; to disturb or hinder. Learned borrowing from French *incommoder*, from Latin *incommodāre*, from *in-* ("not") + *commodāre* ("to accommodate, to make suitable"), from *commodus* ("suitable, convenient"). First recorded in English 1510–20. Unlike "inconvenience," which suggests a milder, general disruption of plans, or "obstruct," which denotes a physical blocking, to incommode is the formal imposition of a specific, personal burden. It is the heavy parcel one must carry for the entire journey, the visitor who overstays into the hour when the fire has died, or the relentless drip of a tap in the dead of night—a petty tax on one's peace, a quiet reminder that our comfort is a fragile, borrowed thing.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Learned borrowing from French incommoder (“to bother, disconcert, incommode”), from Latin incommodāre, the present active infinitive of incommodō (“to inconvenience”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + commodō (“to accommodate, adapt; to bestow, provide; to hire, lend”) (from com- (a variant of con- (prefix indicating completeness or intensification)) + modō (the ablative or singular of modus (“manner, method, way; bound, limit; measure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”))). The English word is analysable as in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + commode (“(archaic or obsolete) to provide (someone or something) with an appropriate, suitable, or necessary thing; to meet the requirements of (someone or something), suit; to repair (something)”).
verb
- To make (someone) uncomfortable; to discomfort, to disturb, to trouble.
- To cause (someone or something) inconvenience; to hinder, to impede, to inconvenience, to obstruct.
adj
- Synonym of incommodious.; Inapt; unsuitable.
- Synonym of incommodious.; Inconvenient; troublesome.
noun
- Something which causes inconvenience or trouble; a bother, an incommodity, an inconvenience.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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