NOISY (noisier, noisiest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: noisier    , noisiest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does noisy mean? 

• NOISY (adjective)
  The adjective NOISY has 2 senses:

1. full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds

2. attracting attention by showiness or bright colors

  Familiarity information: NOISY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NOISY (adjective)

Comparative: noisier   
Superlative: noisiest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Full of or characterized by loud and nonmusical sounds

Context example:

a small noisy dog

Similar:

blatant; clamant; clamorous; strident; vociferous (conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry)

abuzz; buzzing (noisy like the sound of a bee)

clanging; clangorous (having a loud resonant metallic sound)

clanking (having a hard nonresonant metallic sound)

clattery (a rattling sound as of hard things striking together)

creaky; screaky (having a rasping or grating sound)

rackety; rip-roaring; uproarious (uncontrollably noisy)

reedy; wheezy (having a tone of a reed instrument)

stertorous (of breathing having a heavy snoring sound)

swishy (resembling a sustained 'sh' or soft whistle)

thundering (sounding like thunder)

whirring (like the sound of rapidly vibrating wings)

Also:

cacophonic; cacophonous (having an unpleasant sound)

loud (characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity)

Antonym:

quiet (free of noise or uproar; or making little if any sound)

Derivation:

noise (a loud outcry of protest or complaint)

noisiness (the auditory effect characterized by loud and constant noise)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Attracting attention by showiness or bright colors

Context example:

a noisy sweater

Similar:

colorful; colourful (striking in variety and interest)

 Context examples 

They met for the sake of eating, drinking, and laughing together, playing at cards, or consequences, or any other game that was sufficiently noisy.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Here the hunters stored the ammunition-boxes they carried in the boats, and here, but a few feet from their noisy revels, I took possession of two boxes.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Well, when your cousin comes back, he will find Mansfield very quiet; all the noisy ones gone, your brother and mine and myself.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Symptoms include noisy breathing and wheezing.

(Bronchomalacia, NCI Thesaurus)

The separation between her and her family was rather noisy than pathetic.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Sometimes Leah is with her; they are frequently noisy together.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It's a dirty, noisy place, and I was glad to leave it.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Am I a liar? (General hearty and noisy assent.)

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The human auditory cortex was much more responsive than the monkey cortex when they looked at the relative activity between tones and equivalent noisy sounds.

(Our brains appear uniquely tuned for musical pitch, National Institutes of Health)

A hearing aid can help people hear more in both quiet and noisy situations.

(Hearing Aids, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)