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nonliving

American  
[nahn-liv-ing] / ˌnɑnˈlɪv ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. not living; not alive.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Dr. Kiat explains that feathers grow over two to three weeks before detaching from the blood supply and becoming nonliving material.

From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026

This new AI technique works by recognizing patterns across the composition of various samples and categorizing them as living or nonliving based on what it "knows" about patterns of biotic or abiotic objects.

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2023

In the Great Andamanese view of nature, the foremost distinction was between tajio, the living, and eleo, the nonliving.

From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2023

They held to a now discredited theory that would have required significant amounts of natural hydrogen to produce oil from nonliving processes rather than from ancient life.

From Science Magazine • Feb. 15, 2023

Perhaps there is some special inorganic, nonliving catalyst in the soil that is able to fix atmospheric gases and convert them into organic molecules.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan