inconvenience
noun (inconvenience — uncountable; an inconvenience, inconveniences); verb (inconvenience, inconveniences, inconvenienced, inconveniencing)
Everyday
- (noun) Trouble or difficulty that stops things going smoothly or easily: Sorry for the inconvenience. tree →
- (noun) Something that causes small trouble: The broken lift is an inconvenience. tree →
- (verb) To cause someone trouble or extra work: I don't want to inconvenience you. tree →
In the lessons
In everyday life notices say «We apologise for any inconvenience» when trains are late or roads closed; it is often a polite, soft word for real trouble. Phrases: «sorry for the inconvenience», «cause inconvenience», «a minor inconvenience».
Examples
- We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the roadworks. tree →
- Having no hot water is a big inconvenience. tree →
- I hope I'm not inconveniencing you. tree →
- The late bus was a small inconvenience. tree →
- Sorry for the inconvenience — the shop opens again soon. tree →
- Living far from school is an inconvenience. tree →
- The magic waters, of course, soon remedy this temporary inconvenience.[309] tree →
Note
Formal and polite. Adjective: inconvenient (opposite: convenient). Spelled -ience. In notices it softens bad news; the real trouble may be bigger.
On Mova
- Trees and pragmatics of «inconvenience» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- «inconvenience» in the school dictionary on Mova free.
This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/inconvenience/