nonconformity

[ non-kuhn-fawr-mi-tee ]

noun

1. failure or refusal to conform, as with established customs, attitudes, or ideas.
2. lack of conformity or agreement.
3. (often initial capital letter) refusal to conform to the Church of England.
4. Geology. an unconformity that separates crystalline rocks, either igneous or metamorphic, from sedimentary rocks.

nonconformity

/ ˌnɒnkənˈfɔːmɪtɪ /

noun

1. failure or refusal to conform
2. absence of agreement or harmony

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonconformity¹

First recorded in 1610–20; non- + conformity

Example Sentences

There aren’t enough clues to determine Sullivan’s truth, not enough “evidence that their motivation for gender nonconformity was not external, but internal.”

From Washington Blade

In a way, the rain may have been comforting at a time when nonconformity seemed to have overthrown Washington’s temperature regime.

From Washington Post

This says a lot about views of nonconformity that it's entirely plausible he still holds.

From The Daily Beast

We are too prone to party shibboleths; it is the characteristic sin which our necessary nonconformity has generated.

From Project Gutenberg

Nonconformity is, no doubt, amenable to the reproach of undue sectarianism and unnecessary division.

From Project Gutenberg

There was much nonconformity in the church which the queen ordered the bishops to correct.

From Project Gutenberg

During the last years of the reign the movement towards Presbyterianism was checked and nonconformity was less prominent.

From Project Gutenberg

The results of nonconformity in a family are just an epitome of what happens on a larger scale in the world.

From Project Gutenberg