nonsense
See also: non-sense
English
Alternative forms
- nonsence (archaic)
- non-sense
Etymology
From non- (“no, none, lack of”) + sense, from c. 1610. Compare the semantically similar West Frisian ûnsin (“nonsense”), Dutch onzin (“nonsense”), German Unsinn (“nonsense”), English unsense (“nonsense”).
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnɑn.sɛns/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnɒns.əns/
Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: non‧sense
- Rhymes: -ɒnsɛns, -ɒnsəns
Noun
nonsense (usually uncountable, plural nonsenses)
- Letters or words, in writing or speech, that have no meaning or pattern or seem to have no meaning.
- After my father had a stroke, every time he tried to talk, it sounded like nonsense.
- An untrue statement.
- He says that I stole his computer, but that's just nonsense.
- That which is silly, illogical and lacks any meaning, reason or value; that which does not make sense.
- Something foolish.
- 2008 October 9, “Nick Leeson has some lessons for this collapse”, in Telegraph.co.uk:
- and central banks lend vast sums against marshmallow backed securities, or other nonsenses creative bankers dreamed up.
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- (literature) A type of poetry that contains strange or surreal ideas, as, for example, that written by Edward Lear.
- (biology) A damaged DNA sequence whose products are not biologically active, that is, that does nothing.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:nonsense
- Synonyms: falsehood, lie, untruth, absurdity, rubbish, tosh
- Synonyms: absurdity, silliness, contradiction, stupidity, unreasoning
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "nonsense"
- non-nonsense
- no-nonsense
- nonsensical
- nonsensification
- nonsensify
- QAnonsense
Collocations
Collocations
- utter nonsense
- sheer nonsense
- complete nonsense
- absolute nonsense
- pure nonsense
- downright nonsense
- perfect nonsense
- silly nonsense
- superstitious nonsense
- romantic nonsense
- childish nonsense
Translations
meaningless words
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untrue statement
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type of poetry
|
damaged DNA sequence
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Verb
nonsense (third-person singular simple present nonsenses, present participle nonsensing, simple past and past participle nonsensed)
- To make nonsense of;
- a. 1909, Bernard Shaw, “The Red Robe”, in James Huneker, editor, Dramatic Opinions and Essays by G. Bernard Shaw, volume 2, page 73:
- At the Haymarket all this is nonsensed by an endeavor to steer between Mr. Stanley Weyman's rights as author of the story and the prescriptive right of the leading actor to fight popularly and heroically against heavy odds.
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- To attempt to dismiss as nonsense; to ignore or belittle the significance of something; to render unimportant or puny.
- Synonyms: belittle, dismiss, pooh-pooh, rubbish
- 1997 June 3, “Rockies respond to whip”, in Denver Post:
- "They haven't nonsensed these workouts. They've taken them and used them very well. I didn't know how they'd respond, but they've responded."
- 2000, Leon Garfield, Jason Cockcroft, Jack Holborn, page 131:
- Very commanding: very much 'end of this nonsensing'. Mister Fared spread his hands and shook his thin head imperceptibly, as if to say he understood.
- 2006 March 17, “Sierra Leone: Petroleum Unit Calls for Auditing”, in AllAfrica.com:
- He further nonsensed press suggestions that the Petroleum Unit was set up to assist in the administration of sporting activities.
- (intransitive) To joke around, to waste time
- 1963, C. F. Griffin, The Impermanence of Heroes, page 170:
- When he meant "go and get one" he said to go and get one, with no nonsensing around about "liking" to get one.
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Adjective
nonsense (comparative more nonsense, superlative most nonsense)
- Nonsensical.
- (biochemistry) Resulting from the substitution of a nucleotide in a sense codon, causing it to become a stop codon (not coding for an amino-acid).
Translations
nonsensical — see nonsensical
resulting from the substitution of a nucleotide in a sense codon, causing it to become a stop codon
|
Interjection
nonsense
- An emphatic rejection of something one has just heard and does not believe or agree with.
- 2023 January 11, Philip Haigh, “Comment: The worst chaos for 40 years”, in RAIL, number 974, page 4:
- The operators present this as a passenger benefit by claiming it provides early notice. Nonsense! This just means that passengers can't find any information about the train they thought they were catching. It simply disappears.
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Translations
emphatic rejection
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See also
- missense
- non-sense
Further reading
- nonsense at OneLook Dictionary Search
- “nonsense”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- “nonsense”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
- “nonsense” (US) / “nonsense” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
Finnish
Etymology
From English nonsense.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnonsens/, [ˈno̞ns̠e̞ns̠]
Noun
nonsense
- nonsense (type of poetry)
Declension
| Inflection of nonsense (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | nonsense | nonsenset | |
| genitive | nonsensen | nonsensejen | |
| partitive | nonsensea | nonsenseja | |
| illative | nonsenseen | nonsenseihin | |
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | nonsense | nonsenset | |
| accusative | nom. | nonsense | nonsenset |
| gen. | nonsensen | ||
| genitive | nonsensen | nonsensejen nonsenseinrare | |
| partitive | nonsensea | nonsenseja | |
| inessive | nonsensessa | nonsenseissa | |
| elative | nonsensesta | nonsenseista | |
| illative | nonsenseen | nonsenseihin | |
| adessive | nonsensella | nonsenseilla | |
| ablative | nonsenselta | nonsenseilta | |
| allative | nonsenselle | nonsenseille | |
| essive | nonsensena | nonsenseina | |
| translative | nonsenseksi | nonsenseiksi | |
| instructive | — | nonsensein | |
| abessive | nonsensetta | nonsenseitta | |
| comitative | — | nonsenseineen | |
| Possessive forms of nonsense (type nalle) | ||
|---|---|---|
| possessor | singular | plural |
| 1st person | nonsenseni | nonsensemme |
| 2nd person | nonsensesi | nonsensenne |
| 3rd person | nonsensensa | |
Mauritian Creole
Etymology
From English nonsense.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nɒnsɛns/
Noun
nonsense
- nonsense
Alternative forms
- nonsens