nonsense

American  

[non-sens, -suhns] / ˈnɒn sɛns, -səns /

noun

1. 

   words or language having little or no sense or meaning.

   Synonyms:

   twaddle, trumpery, trash, tommyrot, rubbish, rot, poppycock, piffle, moonshine, humbug, hooey, hokum, guff, gibberish, foolishness, folderol, flapdoodle, fiddle-faddle, drivel, bunk, bull, bosh, blether, blatherskite, blather, blarney, bilge water, bilge, baloney, balderdash

2. conduct, action, etc., that is senseless, foolish, or absurd.

   to have tolerated enough nonsense.

3. impudent, insubordinate, or otherwise objectionable behavior.

   He doesn't have to take that nonsense from you.

4. something absurd or fatuous.

   the utter nonsense of such a suggestion.

5. anything of trifling importance or of little or no use.

6. Genetics. a DNA sequence that does not code for an amino acid and is not transcribed (distinguished from sense).

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nonsense British  

/ ˈnɒnsəns /

noun

1. something that has or makes no sense; unintelligible language; drivel

2. conduct or action that is absurd

3. foolish or evasive behaviour or manners

   she'll stand no nonsense

4. See no-nonsense

5. things of little or no value or importance; trash

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interjection

1. an exclamation of disagreement

nonsense Scientific  

/ nŏn′sĕns′ /

1. Relating to a mutation in a structural gene that changes a nucleotide triplet into a stop codon, thus prematurely terminating the polypeptide chain during protein synthesis.

2. See more at point mutation

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nonsense Idioms  

1. see stuff and nonsense.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsensicalness
  noun
• nonsensical
  adjective
• nonsensically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of nonsense

First recorded in 1605–15; non- + sense

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Explanation

Nonsense is stuff that sounds like language but doesn't have any meaning, like the phrase higgledy-piggledy-po, or fwumphy-doo. The most famous nonsense poem is Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky." Nonsense means exactly what it sounds like: not containing a lick of sense. Nonsense words are made up. But sometimes if you say something in a really confusing way, people will say you're speaking nonsense: even though you're using normal words, you don't make any sense. Sometimes people will dismiss ideas that they don't like by calling them nonsense, but you might know better. Little household knick-knacks that have no purpose are also called nonsense.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nonsense

Many voters’ economic woes are sky-high, making it hard for culture war nonsense to feel relevant.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

It would be much better if it didn’t have to get that far, but we do still have a robust and independent judiciary that has been willing to stand up to nonsense.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

Asked about US special envoy Steve Witkoff recently telling Putin he was a humanitarian, she called the comment "nonsense" and "a pity".

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Then I do my warmups, relax, keep my mind clear of any nonsense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

“Don’t talk nonsense, silly girl. What would the king say were he to learn that you never really spun the gold, but bargained his child to this … creature? This little demon?”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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Related Words

• absurdity
• babble
• baloney
• bunk
• craziness
• drivel
• folly
• foolishness
• gibberish
• madness
• rubbish
• silliness
• stupidity
• trash

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