nonexistent
Britishadjective
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not having being or existence
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not present under specified conditions or in a specified place
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Something that's nonexistent doesn't really exist. When your cat hisses at her reflection in the mirror, she's attacking a nonexistent enemy. The adjective nonexistent describes something that's not real. Your nonexistent problems are only in your imagination, for example, and you may pretend to answer a nonexistent phone call to avoid an awkward conversation with an acquaintance at the post office. The word existent is at the heart of nonexistent, with its root of existence. They all come from the Latin word exsistere, "to come into being, to appear, or to be."
Vocabulary lists containing nonexistent
Zilch, Zip, Nada: Words For Nothing
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Nobody's Home: Synonyms For "Absent"
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The Phantom Tollbooth
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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.
His alleged negotiation prowess was actually nonexistent, as the multiple failures of his businesses should have made clear.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
With its young band cutting demos on a four-track cassette recorder, “Nimrods” could have been set in 2026, 1996 or 1976 — phones and social media are practically nonexistent in the plot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He was seen as a living embodiment of a sport that has become a Wild West of free-flowing cash, rampant opportunism and nonexistent loyalty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Yes, it's a bit slow and the scene references to Seattle are "mostly nonexistent" because it was filmed in Vancouver, but overall, the "likeable" Elle is worth watching, she added.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
At present our understanding is meager—probably because disarmament budgets have, since the time of Sargon of Akkad, been somewhere between ineffective and nonexistent.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
