nonbeing

British  

/ ˌnɒnˈbiːɪŋ /

noun

1. the philosophical problem arising from the fact that the ability to refer appears to presuppose the existence of whatever is referred to, and yet we can talk intelligibly about nonexistent objects See also subsistence

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nonbeing

The dao is characterized as the source of all things that exist, as the source of being and nonbeing.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

Amleth, as he is called, is no student philosopher, temporizing over the nuances of being and nonbeing.

From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022

And not only the real — after all, even the basest trivialities are real — but the omnipresent, the immanent and the imminent, the stuff of being and nonbeing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2021

But in the insomniac’s self-satisfaction there is also, perhaps, a genuine fear of the nonbeing, the nullity, of sleep.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 3, 2018

“Into nonbeing, which is to say, everything,” replied Professor McGonagall.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• nobody