nonpareil

[ non-puh-rel ]
/ ˌnɒn pəˈrɛl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR nonpareil ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having no equal; peerless.

noun

a person or thing having no equal.
a small pellet of colored sugar for decorating candy, cake, and cookies.
a flat, round, bite-sized piece of chocolate covered with this sugar.
painted bunting.
Printing.
  1. a 6-point type.
  2. a slug occupying 6 points of space between lines.

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Origin of nonpareil

1400–50; late Middle English nonparaille < Middle French nonpareil, equivalent to non- non- + pareil equal < Vulgar Latin *pariculum (Latin pari- (stem of pār) equal + -culum -cule1)

Words nearby nonpareil

nonorthodox, nonosteogenic fibroma, nonoxynol-9, nonparametric, nonparametric statistics, nonpareil, nonparous, nonparticipant, nonparticipating, nonparticipation, nonpartisan
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to nonpareil

ideal, model

Example sentences from the Web for nonpareil

British Dictionary definitions for nonpareil

nonpareil
/ (ˈnɒnpərəl, ˌnɒnpəˈreɪl) /

noun

a person or thing that is unsurpassed or unmatched; peerless example
(formerly) a size of printers' type equal to 6 point
US a small bead of coloured sugar used to decorate cakes, biscuits, etc
mainly US a flat round piece of chocolate covered with this sugar

adjective

having no match or equal; peerless

Word Origin for nonpareil

C15: from French, from non- + pareil same
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012