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.
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
But mortgage firms continued to give subprime loans to consumers whose credit history was poor or nonexistent, and banks packaged those loans into derivatives with AAA ratings.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026
A pair of Orange County immigration attorneys received temporary suspensions after the court discovered they used generative AI to write briefs that included “multiple nonexistent cases, misattributed quotations, and gross misrepresentations.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
And at many schools, student activism is virtually nonexistent.
From Salon • May 28, 2026
“Right you—” Mr. Blake snarled at the nonexistent cherry knocker who wasn't cowering, terrified, on his doorstep or anywhere else.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
