nonsensical
Americanadjective
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(of words or language) having little or no meaning; making little or no sense.
A baby's babbling is appealingly nonsensical.
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(of behavior, conduct, actions, etc.) foolish, senseless, fatuous, or absurd.
His nonsensical behavior was unusual for such a serious person.
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objectionable, impudent, insubordinate.
I refuse to listen to that nonsensical gossip.
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of trifling importance or of little or no use.
I've had more than enough of your nonsensical advice!
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nonsensical
Explanation
If something has no intelligent meaning, you can describe it as nonsensical. When you're really angry, you might hear yourself sputtering nonsensical sounds and have to stop, take a breath, and start again. Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" is full of great examples of nonsensical words, like "mimsy," "frumious," and "slithy," which manage to be both descriptive and completely nonsensical. Something that is utterly ridiculous or absurd can also be described as nonsensical. You might tell your best friend, "I know you like crazy hats, but that thing on your head is completely nonsensical."
Vocabulary lists containing nonsensical
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Prisoner B-3087
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Paper Towns
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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.
Owens’ arguments are often nonsensical, but because she commands an audience of more than 6 million YouTube subscribers, they have enough power to force the rest of the commentary class to rebut them.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
To the uninitiated, Bangaranga seems cast in the mould of nonsensical Eurovision songs like Diggi-Lou, Digg-Lay - but the title actually means "uproar" in Jamaican patois.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
The language used to describe snack tins is so flowery — and muddled by hyper-wellness jargon — it’s almost nonsensical.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
Ionesco’s brand of absurdism is indebted to classic French farce, which is redeployed in lunatic fashion to lampoon the nonsensical nature of human existence.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
He just didn't believe that a jury, black or white, could convict him on the nonsensical story told by Ralph Myers—not when he had an unquestionable alibi with close to a dozen witnesses.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
