noisy

IPA/ˈnɔɪzi/
KK[nˈɔɪzi]IPA/ˈnɔɪzi/

noisy — adjective

  • noisypositive
  • noisiercomparative
  • noisiestsuperlative

1. producing many loud sounds that disturb or annoy people

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

producing many loud sounds that disturb or annoy people

Example

Eitan could not sleep because the noisy party next door went on until dawn.

noisy + noun (party / traffic / neighbours)

The street market in Taipei was too noisy for Lakshmi to hear phone calls clearly.

too noisy for [someone] to [verb]

Common collocations
  • noisy children
  • noisy neighbours
  • noisy classroom
  • noisy street
  • noisy party
Synonyms
  • loud

    broader — describes any high volume, not only unpleasant sounds

  • rowdy

    specifically about people making noise in a disorganised or disruptive way

  • deafening

    much stronger — so loud that you cannot hear anything else

Antonyms
  • quiet

    general opposite; making little or no sound

  • peaceful

    describes a place without disturbing noise

Grammar Patterns

noisy + noun

be + noisy

too noisy to + verb

Common Mistakes

The room was noisy with people.
The room was noisy because of the people.
'noisy with' is not a standard pattern; describe the source separately.
A noisy noise came from outside.
A loud noise came from outside.
'noisy' describes a source, not a single sound; use 'loud' for one-off sounds.

2. containing unwanted static, crackling, or random changes that spoil the quality

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

containing unwanted static, crackling, or random changes that spoil the quality of an electronic signal or transmission

Example

Christopher could barely understand the conversation because the phone line was noisy.

be + noisy (phone line / signal / connection)

The video footage from Élise's camera was too noisy to use in the film.

Common collocations
  • noisy signal
  • noisy line
  • noisy channel
  • noisy recording
  • noisy video
Synonyms
  • static

    narrower — specifically describes a crackling sound caused by electrical interference

  • corrupted

    stronger — the signal is damaged to the point of being unusable

  • interference-filled

    more technical; describes a signal disrupted by external sources

Antonyms
  • clear

    opposite; a clean, undistorted signal

  • clean

    technical opposite; free from unwanted changes or noise

Grammar Patterns

noisy + noun (signal / line / feed)

be + noisy

Usage Note

Describes audio signals, radio transmissions, photographs, or video where interference is present. Distinguished from sense 3 by context — sense 2 applies to physical electronic signals, while sense 3 applies to abstract data or information.

Common Mistakes

This data is very noisy.' (talking about research data)
This data contains a lot of noise.' or use sense 3
for research data, use sense 3, not sense 2.

3. containing random, meaningless information that makes it difficult to clearly se

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

containing random, meaningless information that makes it difficult to clearly see useful patterns or reliable conclusions in data

Example

Kemi deleted the noisy survey responses before running her analysis.

noisy + noun (data / responses / readings)

The machine-learning model failed because it was trained on noisy data.

Common collocations
  • noisy data
  • noisy dataset
  • noisy readings
  • noisy measurements
  • noisy images
Synonyms
  • corrupted

    stronger — data that is damaged or unreadable, not just containing random variation

  • messy

    informal; describes data that is disorganised or contains errors

  • unreliable

    broader — data that cannot be trusted for any reason, not just random noise

Antonyms
  • clean

    technical opposite; data that has been processed to remove irrelevant information

  • reliable

    data that can be trusted for analysis

Grammar Patterns

noisy + noun (data / readings / measurements)

be + noisy

Usage Note

Common in computing, statistics, and research contexts. The subject is typically datasets, readings, images (as data), or measurements. Distinguished from sense 2 by domain — sense 3 is about abstract data sets, not physical electronic signals.

Common Mistakes

I could not hear the song because the file was noisy.
I could not hear the song because the file contained audio noise.
For audio files, use sense 2 unless you are referring to the data quality in a technical sense.

4. having very strong or bright colours that attract attention in a way that is not

4.adjectiveB2
Definition

having very strong or bright colours that attract attention in a way that is not elegant or pleasing

Example

The teenager wore a noisy yellow hoodie that his parents thought looked ridiculous.

Quinn refused to wear the noisy floral shirt his aunt chose for the wedding.

noisy + noun for colourful clothing (shirt / dress / pattern)

Common collocations
  • noisy colours
  • noisy pattern
  • noisy shirt
  • noisy dress
  • noisy decor
Synonyms
  • gaudy

    more precise; describes something decorated too brightly or showily

  • loud

    more common for this meaning; equally informal

  • garish

    stronger disapproval; unpleasantly bright, especially in a clash of colours

  • flashy

    attracts attention through bright appearance, sometimes in a stylish way

Antonyms
  • subtle

    opposite; understated and not attracting attention

  • muted

    specifically about colours that are soft and not bright

  • elegant

    tasteful and refined, the opposite of gaudy

Grammar Patterns

noisy + noun (colours / patterns / shirt)

be + noisy

Usage Note

Used negatively about fashion, interior design, or art. Unlike sense 1, this sense cannot describe actual sound — it is a visual metaphor. 'Loud' is a more common alternative for this meaning.

Common Mistakes

She wore a noisy pink dress.' (unclear — sounds like it makes sound)
She wore a bright, noisy pink dress.
Clarify that 'noisy' refers to the colour, not actual sound.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe high levels of sound, but they differ in scope and connotation. 'Noisy' is the broadest — it describes any source producing unpleasant or disruptive sound over time, from a party to a machine. 'Loud' focuses purely on volume; a single sound can be loud, but not noisy. 'Rowdy' applies only to people or groups behaving in a disorderly, noisy way — it does not describe machines. 'Deafening' is far stronger: it means so loud that hearing is temporarily impossible. 'Raucous' suggests loud, rough, and slightly wild sounds, often from a crowd having fun. For everyday situations, 'noisy' is the most neutral and widely used. A street market can be noisy; a fire alarm is deafening; a football crowd can be both rowdy and raucous.

loud ↗rowdydeafening ↗raucous ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • noisy environment
  • noisy crowd
  • noisy neighbour
  • noisy children
  • noisy classroom

Adverbs

  • extremely noisy
  • incredibly noisy
  • terribly noisy
  • far too noisy
  • unbearably noisy

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Derived from the noun 'noise' (from Old French 'noise', meaning 'din, uproar, quarrel') combined with the adjective suffix '-y'. The word entered English in the 13th century as 'noisy' meaning 'making noise'. The metaphorical senses — signal interference and showy colours — developed in the 20th century with the rise of electronics and changing aesthetic sensibilities.