nugatory

[ noo-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, nyoo- ]

/ ˈnu gəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, ˈnyu- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nugatory ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of no real value; trifling; worthless.

of no force or effect; ineffective; futile; vain.

not valid.

Nearby words

nufud, nug, nugacious, nugacity, nugae, nugatory, nuggar, nugget, nuggety, nuggie, nuisance

Origin of nugatory

1595–1605; < Latin nūgātōrius worthless, useless, trifling, equivalent to nūgā(rī) to trifle + -tōrius -tory¹

SYNONYMS FOR nugatory

1 trivial, insignificant, frivolous.

2 useless, inoperative.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nugatory ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nugatory

In the absence of such officers the proposed legislation would be nugatory and inoperative.
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents|Grover Cleveland
But now, in the second place, even as regards changes produced by climate and food, the reply is nugatory.
Darwin, and After Darwin, Volume II (of 3)|George John Romanes
These boasted bulwarks of Italy have proved as nugatory as the Alps.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851|Various
If the former, then it had already rendered the prohibition upon slavery in the Louisiana territory, by the Act of 1820, nugatory.
The Middle Period 1817-1858|John William Burgess

This, again, was an expedient which sounded well, but which would be nugatory and absurd.
The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the|Thomas Clarkson

British Dictionary definitions for nugatory

nugatory

/ (ˈnjuːɡətərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of little value; trifling

not valida nugatory law

Word Origin for nugatory

C17: from Latin nūgātōrius, from nūgārī to jest, from nūgae trifles

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