Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for nonlife. Search instead for onionlike.

nonlife

American  
[non-lahyf] / nɒnˈlaɪf /

noun

  1. lack or absence of life.


Etymology

Origin of nonlife

First recorded in 1725–35; non- + life

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.

However, nonlife insurers will experience revenue squeezed by pricing pressure next year, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

“It would be very difficult to observe a planet with the composition of Earth’s atmosphere and figure out ways for nonlife processes to produce that,” says Giada Arney, an exoplanet scientist at Goddard.

From Scientific American • Nov. 10, 2021

Robinson was later found at a hospital where he was treated for nonlife threatening injuries.

From Washington Post • Oct. 23, 2021

Dr. Sutherland too gave little credence to the argument that Luca might lie in some gray transition zone between nonlife and life just because it depended on its environment for some essential components.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2016

They carry on their existence in the borderlands between life and nonlife.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston