nudnik

noun

nud·nik ˈnu̇d-nik

variants or less commonly nudnick

Synonyms of nudnik next

: a person who is a bore or nuisance

Did you know?

The suffix -nik, meaning “one connected with or characterized by being,” came to English through Yiddish (and ultimately from Polish and Ukrainian). You might know it from such words as beatnik, peacenik, neatnik, or even no-goodnik. The suffix -nik is frequently used in English to create nonce words that are often playfully jokey or slightly derogatory. Some theorize that the popularity of the suffix was enhanced by Russian Sputnik, as well as Al Capp's frequent use of -nik words in his L'il Abner cartoons. The nud- of the Yiddish borrowing nudnik ultimately comes from the Polish word nuda, meaning “boredom.”

Examples of nudnik in a Sentence

dreads family gatherings, as that nudnik of a brother-in-law is always sure to be there nobody wants to hang around with that nudnik—all he wants to do is talk shop

Recent Examples on the Web The Word Mavens, are the authors of a new book, The Whole Spiel: Funny essays about digital nudniks, seder selfies and chicken soup memories. Connect with them at www.thewordmavens.com. —

Philly.com, 13 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nudnik.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.