Definition of the word non

1

: not : other than : reverse of : absence of

2

: of little or no consequence : unimportant : worthless

3

: lacking the usual especially positive characteristics of the thing specified

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin non not, from Old Latin noenum, from ne- not + oinom, neuter of oinos one — more at no, one

Dictionary Entries Near non-

Cite this Entry

“Non-.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non-. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on non-

Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Merriam-Webster unabridged

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnɒn/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnɑn/

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English non- (not, lack of, failure to), from Middle English non (no, not any; not, not at all, literally none) and Old English nān- (prefix), both from Old English nān (no, not any), from Proto-West Germanic *nain, from Proto-Germanic *nainaz (none, nought, zero), see none. Merged with and reinforced by Middle English non- (not), from Old French non- and Medieval Latin nōn (not), from Old Latin noinu, noinom, from ne oinom (not one).

Prefix[edit]

non-

  1. Used in the sense of no or none, to show lack of or failure to perform; or in the sense of not, to negate the meaning of the word to which it is prefixed.
    nonpayment (lack of payment, failure to pay)
    nonaggressive (not aggressive)
Usage notes[edit]
  • Non- may be attached to nouns (nonspace), adjectives (nonaggressive), adverbs (nonaggressively, nonstop), or—infrequently—even verbs (nontender).
  • Non- may be joined to a word with a hyphen, standard in British usage as evidenced by OED’s typically including only the hyphenated forms, but some OED entries are spelled without hyphen only. In American usage, non- is often joined without a hyphen. (For example, nonbaseball is relatively common, but noncricket, referring to a primarily British sport, is rare.) Some non- words rarely or never use a hyphen (such as nonentity). By contrast, un- is almost always spelled without a hyphen. GPO manual item 6.29. recommends to spell non- prefixed words without a hyphen unless an overriding consideration applies.[1]
  • For combinations with capitalized words such as proper nouns and some adjectives, hyphen is almost always used, e.g. non-Aristotelian or non-English. This matches GPO manual recommendation.[1]
  • Semantically, non- suggests objective quality and logical opposition (hence ungradable), whereas un- suggests subjective quality and polar/diametric opposition (often gradable).
  • Meaning «not» in phrases taken from Latin and some other languages, non is a separate word and is not hyphenated: non compos mentis, persona non grata.
  • As non- is a living and highly productive prefix, the list of words having the prefix non- is practically unlimited: Wiktionary currently has over 9000 such word forms. It is particularly common in the sciences.
Synonyms[edit]
  • (not): a-, an-, dys-, i-/il-/im-/in-/ir-, mal-, un-
Derived terms[edit]
[edit]
Translations[edit]

not

  • Afrikaans: nie-
  • Armenian: ոչ (hy) (očʿ), չ- (čʿ-), ան- (an-)
  • Catalan: no- (ca)
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin:  (zh) (bù-),  (zh) (fēi-),  (zh) (wú-)
  • Czech: ne- (cs), mimo-
  • Dutch: niet-
  • Esperanto: ne-
  • Finnish: ei- (fi), epä- (fi)
  • French: non- (fr)
  • Georgian: არა- (ara-), არ- (ar-)
  • German: nicht- (de)
  • Greek: μη (el) (mi)
  • Ido: ne-
  • Irish: mí-, neamh-
  • Japanese:  (ja) (hi-),  (ja) (fu-),  (ja) (mu-)
  • Kapampangan: e-
  • Korean: 불(不) (ko) (bul), 비(非) (ko) (bi), 무(無) (ko) (mu)
  • Polish: nie- (pl)
  • Portuguese: não- (pt)
  • Russian: не- (ru) (ne-)
  • Scottish Gaelic: mì-, neo-
  • Spanish: no (es), des- (es), in- (es)
  • Swedish: icke- (sv), o- (sv)
  • Ukrainian: не- (uk) (ne-)

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin nona (nine).

Prefix[edit]

non-

  1. prevocalic form of nona-
Derived terms[edit]
  • nonad
  • nonet
  • nonuplet

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 6. Compounding Rules in U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, govinfo.gov

Further reading[edit]

  • non- at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “non-”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈnʌn/, /ˈnʌnˀ/, /nʌnˈ/

Prefix[edit]

non-

  1. non-

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • “non-” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /noːn/

Prefix[edit]

non-

  1. (organic chemistry) non-

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

  • Category:nl:Hydrocarbon chain prefixes

Indonesian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English non-, from Middle English non- (not, lack of, failure to), from Middle English non (no, not any; not, not at all, literally none), from Old English nān (no, not any), see none. Merged with and reinforced by Middle English non- (not), from Old French non- and Medieval Latin nōn (not), from Old Latin noinu, noinom, from ne oinom (not one).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈnɔn]
  • Hyphenation: non

Prefix[edit]

non-

  1. non-: Used in the sense of no or none, to show lack of or failure to perform; or in the sense of not, to negate the meaning of the word to which it is prefixed.

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “non-” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Meaning Non

What does Non mean? Here you find 93 meanings of the word Non. You can also add a definition of Non yourself

1

0

 
0

Departmental Public Body — Also known as Quangos (Quasi-Autonomous Non- Governmental Organisations) In the UK, organisations which are not government departments but are accountable to P [..]

2

0

 
0

Non

Callable — Also known as Bulletbond. A bond or stock which cannot be redeemed by the issuer before a particular date or until maturity.

3

0

 
0

Non

Disclosure — A signed formal agreement in which one party agrees to keep certain information secret. Often used in business when products or projects are being developed.

4

0

 
0

Non

Executive — In business, a member of a board of directors or a consultant who is not an employee of a company but who gives independent advice.

5

0

 
0

Non

Executive Director — Also called Outside Director. A person who is an independent member of a company’s board of directors, i.e., they are not an employee of the company and are the [..]

6

0

 
0

Non

pc — Language or an action which is considered not to be politically correct, i.e., potentially offensive, especially to a minority group of some sort.

7

0

 
0

Non

Recourse Debt — A type of loan or debt in which the borrower is not personally liable to the lender. If the borrower fails to make repayments the lender can only take back what was bough [..]

8

0

 
0

Non

Tariff Barrier — (NTB) A type of non-tax trade restriction on imported goods which is used to make it difficult for certain goods to be taken into a country.

9

0

 
0

Non

network providers — Health care providers and treatment facilities not under contract with the HMO or those that do not have an insurance PPO contract.

10

0

 
0

Non

owners policy — Auto insurance coverage that offers liability, uninsured motorist, and medical payments to a named insured who does not own a vehicle.

11

0

 
0

Non

renewal — A decision by an insurance company not to renew a policy.

12

0

 
0

Non

Recourse Mortgage — A home loan in which the borrower can never owe more than the home’s value at the time the loan is repaid.

13

0

 
0

Non

prefix meaning «not, lack of,» or «sham,» 14c., from Anglo-French noun-, from Old French non-, from Latin non «not, by no means, not at all, not a,» from Old Latin noenum [..]

14

0

 
0

Non

not: negation of a word or group of words; "he does not speak French"; "she is not going"; "they are not friends"; &am [..]

15

0

 
0

Non

admitted patient — A patient who receives care from a recognised non-admitted patient service/clinic of a hospital.

16

0

 
0

Non

government Community Service Organisations (NGCSOs) — Organisations, operated on either a for-profit or not-for-profit basis, privately managed to provide community services for family with children, [..]

17

0

 
0

Non

government Organisations (NGOs) — Private not-for-profit community managed organisations that receive state and territory government funding specifically for the purpose of providing community support [..]

18

0

 
0

Non

repudiation — Sender cannot deny sending a record to the electronic health register or to another person.

19

0

 
0

Non

VR — Non-Vocationally Registered

20

0

 
0

Non

existent n. That which does not exist.

21

0

 
0

Non

resident adj. Not residing within a given jurisdiction.

22

0

 
0

Non

combatant n. One attached to the army or navy, but having duties other than that of fighting.

23

0

 
0

Non

Non. posterity; a fish; eternal

24

0

 
0

Non

(fish). Nun, the father of Joshua. (1 Chronicles 7:27)

25

0

 
0

Non

UNION — Failure of the fragments of a fractured bone to heal or to obtain bony fusion following an arthrodesis.

26

0

 
0

Non

not

27

0

 
0

Non

not : other than : reverse of : absence of

28

0

 
0

Non

(Latin) not of.

29

0

 
0

Non

surcharging ATMs — ATMs that do not charge a fee for withdrawing cash

30

0

 
0

Non

market impacts — Impacts that affect ecosystems or human welfare, but that are not easily expressed in monetary terms, e.g., an increased risk of premature death, or increases in the number of people [..]

31

0

 
0

Non

(adv) negation of a word or group of words

32

0

 
0

Non

not

33

0

 
0

Non

ambulatory — Not able to walk. Click Here To Return To List

34

0

 
0

Non

disabled — Term for persons without disabilities. The terms normal, able-bodied, healthy, or whole are less appropriate when contrasting those with and those without disabilities. Click Here To Return [..]

35

0

 
0

Non

Purposeful Movement — Movement that a person may make which has no apparent goal. Click Here To Return To List

36

0

 
0

Non

Covered Charges — Charges for medical services denied or excluded by your insurance. You may be billed for these charges.

37

0

 
0

Non

Participating Provider — A doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider that is not part of an insurance plan’s doctor or hospital network.

38

0

 
0

Non

abb. N M Nones (pl.)| abb. Non.; 7th of month| March| May| July| Oct.| 5th elsewhen

39

0

 
0

Non

Participating or Non-Plan Physician (or Provider): A healthcare provider that does not sign a contract to participate in a health plan. In the Medicare Program, this refers to providers who are theref [..]

40

0

 
0

Non

code resource — Non-code resource is a resource containing the data structures on which the program operates, for example, ‘WIND’, ‘DLOG’, ‘DITL’, or ‘SIZE’ res [..]

41

0

 
0

Non

compressed sound data — Non-compressed sound data is the sampled-sound data that has not been subjected to audio compression or that has been decompressed.

42

0

 
0

Non

Printable Character — Non-Printable Character is a character that doesn’t have a corresponding character letter to its corresponding ASCII code. Examples would be the Linefeed, which is ASCII cha [..]

43

0

 
0

Non

Proprietary Software — Non-proprietary software, the opposite of proprietary software, refers to the software that has no proprietary restrictions attached to it, particularly the restriction about th [..]

44

0

 
0

Non

Traditional Student — Also called «adult student», “adult learner”, «re-entry student», or «returning student.” According to the National Center for Education Statistics [..]

45

0

 
0

Non

commercial species:

46

0

 
0

Non

industrial private landowners:

47

0

 
0

Non

Repudiation — Method by which the sender of data is provided with proof of delivery and the recipient is assured of the sender’s identity, so that neither can later deny having processed the data.

48

0

 
0

Non

Credit Course — A course or activity having no credit applicable toward a formal award, certificate, or degree, except remedial courses.

49

0

 
0

Non

Degree Seeking Student — An individual who has been admitted to a general or specific program, course of study, or activity in the institution at the completion of which a degree, diploma, certificate or other formal award is neither awarded by the institution nor sought by the student.

50

0

 
0

Non

Exempt Employee — An employee whose conditions of employment and compensation are subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended.

51

0

 
0

Non

Need-Based Financial Aid — Funds awarded in recognition of a student’s special abilities, talents, interests, or participation in certain programs without regard to financial need.

52

0

 
0

Non

    not  

53

0

 
0

Non

identity Problem – A philosophical problem, most often associated with Derek Parfit, sometimes used to argue that large-scale policy choices, like choices about climate or geoengineering, cannot log [..]

54

0

 
0

Non

not, no

55

0

 
0

Non

renewable resource- A resource whose total quantity does not increase measurably over time, so that each use of the resource diminishes the supply.

56

0

 
0

Non

[It] not.

57

0

 
0

Non

Not

58

0

 
0

Non

As cladistics does not allow the use of paraphyletic or ancestral taxa, it becomes difficult to refer to groups at the base of any evolutionary lineage. One way is to use prefixes like basal and stem, but these can tend to fuzzy vagueness, e.g. «basal archosauria» is not a correct term for all «thecodonts» but only strictly spea [..]

59

0

 
0

Non

CONFERENCE LINE — A shipping line which operates on a route served by a liner conference but which is not a member of that conference.

60

0

 
0

Non

separation agreement- An agreement between a carrier and a cargo owner following a general average act (supra) which permits the cargo owner to have his goods discharged at the port of refuge and forwarded to destination by the carrier in another ship, thus terminating the common maritime adventure, in return for cargo contributing to future genera [..]

61

0

 
0

Non

vessel-operating common carrier — See NVOCC, infra.

62

0

 
0

Non

Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC)

63

0

 
0

Non

Delivery (ND)

64

0

 
0

Non

adj. «none, no,» s.v. none pron., a., and adv. OED. KEY: non@gram_adj

65

0

 
0

Non

gram_adj 350 neen 2 non 87 none 19 noon 239 noone 3

66

0

 
0

Non

adv.(1) «no, not,» s.v. none pron., a., and adv. OED. KEY: non@adv1

67

0

 
0

Non

adv1 33 non 2 noon 31

68

0

 
0

Non

Lat. adv. «not.» KEY: non@lat_adv

69

0

 
0

Non

lat_adv 1 non 1

70

0

 
0

Non

n. «noon, midday,» s.v. noon sb. OED. KEY: non@n

71

0

 
0

Non

n 16 non 4 noon 12

72

0

 
0

Non

pron. «none, no one,» s.v. none pron., a., and adv. OED. KEY: non@pron

73

0

 
0

Non

pron 134 non 26 none 3 noon 105

74

0

 
0

Non

static member — member of a class that is not declared to be a static member. An object of a class has its own space for each non-static data member.

75

0

 
0

Non

Terminal (or Non-Terminal Action, sometimes NT):  Any action card that gives at least one additional Action.

76

0

 
0

Non

not

77

0

 
0

Non

Check Disbursement — A type of KFS document used to initiate payments by methods other than check issuance. Repetitive outgoing electronic funds transfers and debits to University bank accounts are [..]

78

0

 
0

Non

refundable — a fare that cannot be refunded either in cash or via a credit card credit; very seldom is there an exception

79

0

 
0

Non

transferable — an air ticket that cannot be used by anyone else ( all tickets are such nowadays )

80

0

 
0

Non

Ferrous Metals — Metals not containing iron or its alloys or compounds. Copper, brass, bronze, aluminum bronze, lead, pewter, zinc and other metals to which a magnet will not adhere.

81

0

 
0

Non

CARBONATED HARDNESS — Hardness in water caused by chlorides, sulfates, and nitrates of calcium and magnesium.

82

0

 
0

Non

CODE INSTALLATION — Functional refrigerating system installed where there are no local, state, or national refrigeration codes in force.

83

0

 
0

Non

CONDENSABLES — Gaseous material not liquefied when associated water vapor is condensed in the same environment.

84

0

 
0

Non

DESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION (NDI)

85

0

 
0

Non

FERROUS ALLOY — Alloy containing less then 50 % iron.

86

0

 
0

Non

FROSTING EVAPORATOR — Evaporator which never collects frost or ice on its surface. Uses only thermostatic expansion valves.

87

0

 
0

Non

MECHANICAL REFRIGERATION — Those that obtain the required high and low pressure by some method other than a mechanical compressor.

88

0

 
0

Non

REACTIVE SILICA — Is a polymeric form of silica; thermally unstable which reverts to normal silica when heated. Difficult to detect, but may be present when boiler feedwater shows none, but boiler wat [..]

89

0

 
0

Non

roa-opt|non, fromla|n?n||not.

90

0

 
0

Non

individual —

91

0

 
0

Non

stress test

92

0

 
0

Non

observable fault — A fault is considered non-observable if its effects cannot be measured at any network output.

93

0

 
0

Non

Possibly derived from Latin nonna meaning "nun". According to tradition, this was the name of the mother of Saint David.

Dictionary.university is a dictionary written by people like you and me.
Please help and add a word. All sort of words are welcome!

Add meaning


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

non-

(word root) not

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv. 1. non — negation of a word or group of words; «he does not speak French»; «she is not going»; «they are not friends»; «not many»; «not much»; «not at all»

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

non

:

nonarrival

nAusbleiben nt; (of train, plane, letter also)Nichteintreffen nt

nonattendance

nNichtteilnahme f (→ at an +dat)

nonavailability

nUnerhältlichkeit f; (of person)Unabkömmlichkeit f

nonbook

adj (= relating to media other than books)Non-Book-; non itemNon-Book-Artikel m; non mediaandere Medien als Bücher


non

:

non-Christian

nNichtchrist(in) m(f)

non-com

n (Mil inf) → Uffz m (sl)

noncombatant

nNichtkämpfer(in) m(f), → Nonkombattant(in) m(f) (spec)

non-communicant

n (Eccl) → Nichtkommunikant(in) m(f)

non-completion

nNichtbeendung f; (of work also, contract)Nichtabschluss m


non

:

nonconformity

n (with rules) → Nichteinhaltung f (→ with +gen), → Nichtkonformgehen nt (form)(with mit)

noncontributory

adj benefits, insurance, pension schemeohne Eigenbeteiligung; memberbeitragsfrei

noncooperative

adjunkooperativ

non-delivery

nNichtlieferung f

non-departure

n (of train, flight)Ausfall m


non

:

nondiscrimination

nNichtdiskriminierung f (→ against, towards +gen); non principleDiskriminierungsverbot nt

nondrinker

nNichttrinker(in) m(f); she is a nonsie trinkt keinen Alkohol

nondriver

nNichtfahrer(in) m(f); nons are …wer selbst nicht (Auto) fährt, ist …

non-dutiable

adjunverzollbar


non

:

nonexecutive

adj in a non capacityohne Entscheidungsbefugnis; non director˜ Aufsichtsratsmitglied nt (ohne Entscheidungsbefugnis)

nonexistence

nNichtvorhandensein nt; (Philos) → Nichtexistenz f

non-fat

adj dietfettlos; foodfettarm

non-fat milk

nMilchersatz m (auf pflanzlicher Basis)

nonfiction

adj non book/publicationSachbuch nt; non departmentSachbuchabteilung f

non-governmental

adj non organizationregierungsunabhängige Organisation

non-impact printer

nNon-Impact-Drucker m, → anschlagfreier Drucker

nonintervention

n (Pol etc) → Nichteinmischung f, → Nichteingreifen nt (→ in in +acc)

nonmember

nNichtmitglied nt; (of society also)Nichtangehörige(r) mf; open to nonsGäste willkommen

non-migratory

adj non birdStandvogel m, → Nichtzieher m (spec)


non

:


non

:


non

:

non-profit-making, (US) nonprofit

non-run

adj (esp US) stockingsmaschenfest, laufmaschensicher


non

:

nonstarter

n

(in race) (= person)Nichtstartende(r) mf; (= horse)nicht startendes Pferd; there were two nonszwei traten nicht an

non-U

adj (Brit) charakteristisch für die Gewohnheiten, Sprechweise etc des Kleinbürgertums, → nicht vornehm

nonvocational

adj subject, coursenicht berufsorientiert

nonvoting

adj non sharesstimmrechtslose Aktien pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

  • Top Definitions
  • Quiz
  • Examples
  • British

a prefix meaning “not,” freely used as an English formative, usually with a simple negative force as implying mere negation or absence of something (rather than the opposite or reverse of it, as often expressed by un-1): nonadherence; noninterference; nonpayment; nonprofessional.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Which sentence is correct?

Origin of non-

A prefix representing the Latin adverb nōn “not”

Words nearby non-

nomology, nomophobia, nomothetic, Nomura, -nomy, non-, nona, nonabrasive, nonacademic, nonacceptance, nonaccidental injury

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use non- in a sentence

  • There was a lot of positive feedback from people interested in non-gender binary people.

  • She ultimately ditched JSwipe after about a week and found her current, non-Jewish, boyfriend on OkCupid.

  • An atheist counsels his fellow non-believers on how not to talk to people of faith.

  • The distinction between over-policing and non-responsiveness was alive and well in Bed-Stuy.

  • Last summer, Louisiana also banned non-legal adoption, with offenders facing a penalty of $5,000 and up to five years in prison.

  • The expatriated ex-rebels became alarmed by the non-receipt of the indemnity instalment and the news from their homes.

  • He also states that the Audiencia is virtually non-existent, and so there is no high court in which justice may be sought.

  • De moi, je ne say qu’en dire, d’autant que je ne veux affirmer ny le si ny le non en ce dont je n’ay vidence.

  • Certes le capitaine Merveilles et ses gens monstrerent leur pit non vulgaire.

  • It teaches you to take your time, or as the Germans call it, it gives you «Ruhe (repose),» the grand sine qua non!

British Dictionary definitions for non-


prefix

indicating negationnonexistent

indicating refusal or failurenoncooperation

indicating exclusion from a specified class of persons or thingsnonfiction

indicating lack or absence, esp of a quality associated with what is specifiednonobjective; nonevent

Word Origin for non-

from Latin nōn not

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

Like this post? Please share to your friends:
  • Definition of the word nice
  • Definition of the word negative
  • Definition of the word natural disaster
  • Definition of the word name
  • Definition of the word music