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nonliving

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

adjective

  1. not living; not alive.


Vocabulary lists containing nonliving

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.

See Examples For:

A groundbreaking study is taking a fresh look at one of science's oldest questions: how did life arise from nonliving material on early Earth?

From Science Daily Oct. 26, 2025

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

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