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.
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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-
- 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: 不 (zh) (bù-), 非 (zh) (fēi-), 無/无 (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: 非 (ja) (hi-), 不 (ja) (fu-), 無 (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-
- prevocalic form of nona-
Derived terms[edit]
- nonad
- nonet
- nonuplet
References[edit]
- ↑ 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-
- non-
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- “non-” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /noːn/
Prefix[edit]
non-
- (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-
- 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 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 [..]
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2 |
0 NonCallable — Also known as Bulletbond. A bond or stock which cannot be redeemed by the issuer before a particular date or until maturity.
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3 |
0 NonDisclosure — 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.
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4 |
0 NonExecutive — 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.
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5 |
0 NonExecutive 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 [..]
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6 |
0 Nonpc — Language or an action which is considered not to be politically correct, i.e., potentially offensive, especially to a minority group of some sort.
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7 |
0 NonRecourse 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 [..]
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8 |
0 NonTariff 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.
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9 |
0 Nonnetwork providers — Health care providers and treatment facilities not under contract with the HMO or those that do not have an insurance PPO contract.
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10 |
0 Nonowners policy — Auto insurance coverage that offers liability, uninsured motorist, and medical payments to a named insured who does not own a vehicle.
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11 |
0 Nonrenewal — A decision by an insurance company not to renew a policy.
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12 |
0 NonRecourse Mortgage — A home loan in which the borrower can never owe more than the home’s value at the time the loan is repaid.
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13 |
0 Nonprefix 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 [..]
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14 |
0 Nonnot: negation of a word or group of words; "he does not speak French"; "she is not going"; "they are not friends"; &am [..]
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15 |
0 Nonadmitted patient — A patient who receives care from a recognised non-admitted patient service/clinic of a hospital.
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16 |
0 Nongovernment 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, [..]
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17 |
0 Nongovernment Organisations (NGOs) — Private not-for-profit community managed organisations that receive state and territory government funding specifically for the purpose of providing community support [..]
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18 |
0 Nonrepudiation — Sender cannot deny sending a record to the electronic health register or to another person.
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19 |
0 NonVR — Non-Vocationally Registered
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20 |
0 Nonexistent n. That which does not exist.
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21 |
0 Nonresident adj. Not residing within a given jurisdiction.
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22 |
0 Noncombatant n. One attached to the army or navy, but having duties other than that of fighting.
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23 |
0 NonNon. posterity; a fish; eternal
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24 |
0 Non(fish). Nun, the father of Joshua. (1 Chronicles 7:27)
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25 |
0 NonUNION — Failure of the fragments of a fractured bone to heal or to obtain bony fusion following an arthrodesis.
|
26 |
0 Nonnot
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27 |
0 Nonnot : other than : reverse of : absence of
|
28 |
0 Non(Latin) not of.
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29 |
0 Nonsurcharging ATMs — ATMs that do not charge a fee for withdrawing cash
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30 |
0 Nonmarket 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 [..]
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31 |
0 Non(adv) negation of a word or group of words
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32 |
0 Nonnot
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33 |
0 Nonambulatory — Not able to walk. Click Here To Return To List
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34 |
0 Nondisabled — 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 [..]
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35 |
0 NonPurposeful Movement — Movement that a person may make which has no apparent goal. Click Here To Return To List
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36 |
0 NonCovered Charges — Charges for medical services denied or excluded by your insurance. You may be billed for these charges.
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37 |
0 NonParticipating Provider — A doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider that is not part of an insurance plan’s doctor or hospital network.
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38 |
0 Nonabb. N M Nones (pl.)| abb. Non.; 7th of month| March| May| July| Oct.| 5th elsewhen
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39 |
0 NonParticipating 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 [..]
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40 |
0 Noncode 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 Noncompressed sound data — Non-compressed sound data is the sampled-sound data that has not been subjected to audio compression or that has been decompressed.
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42 |
0 NonPrintable 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 [..]
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43 |
0 NonProprietary 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 [..]
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44 |
0 NonTraditional Student — Also called «adult student», “adult learner”, «re-entry student», or «returning student.” According to the National Center for Education Statistics [..]
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45 |
0 Noncommercial species:
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46 |
0 Nonindustrial private landowners:
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47 |
0 NonRepudiation — 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.
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48 |
0 NonCredit Course — A course or activity having no credit applicable toward a formal award, certificate, or degree, except remedial courses.
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49 |
0 NonDegree 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.
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50 |
0 NonExempt Employee — An employee whose conditions of employment and compensation are subject to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended.
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51 |
0 NonNeed-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.
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52 |
0 Nonnot
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53 |
0 Nonidentity 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 [..]
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54 |
0 Nonnot, no
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55 |
0 Nonrenewable resource- A resource whose total quantity does not increase measurably over time, so that each use of the resource diminishes the supply.
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56 |
0 Non[It] not.
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57 |
0 NonNot
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58 |
0 NonAs 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 [..]
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59 |
0 NonCONFERENCE LINE — A shipping line which operates on a route served by a liner conference but which is not a member of that conference.
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60 |
0 Nonseparation 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 [..]
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61 |
0 Nonvessel-operating common carrier — See NVOCC, infra.
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62 |
0 NonVessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC)
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63 |
0 NonDelivery (ND)
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64 |
0 Nonadj. «none, no,» s.v. none pron., a., and adv. OED. KEY: non@gram_adj
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65 |
0 Nongram_adj 350 neen 2 non 87 none 19 noon 239 noone 3
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66 |
0 Nonadv.(1) «no, not,» s.v. none pron., a., and adv. OED. KEY: non@adv1
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67 |
0 Nonadv1 33 non 2 noon 31
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68 |
0 NonLat. adv. «not.» KEY: non@lat_adv
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69 |
0 Nonlat_adv 1 non 1
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70 |
0 Nonn. «noon, midday,» s.v. noon sb. OED. KEY: non@n
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71 |
0 Nonn 16 non 4 noon 12
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72 |
0 Nonpron. «none, no one,» s.v. none pron., a., and adv. OED. KEY: non@pron
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73 |
0 Nonpron 134 non 26 none 3 noon 105
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74 |
0 Nonstatic 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.
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75 |
0 NonTerminal (or Non-Terminal Action, sometimes NT): Any action card that gives at least one additional Action.
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76 |
0 Nonnot
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77 |
0 NonCheck 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 [..]
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78 |
0 Nonrefundable — a fare that cannot be refunded either in cash or via a credit card credit; very seldom is there an exception
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79 |
0 Nontransferable — an air ticket that cannot be used by anyone else ( all tickets are such nowadays )
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80 |
0 NonFerrous 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.
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81 |
0 NonCARBONATED HARDNESS — Hardness in water caused by chlorides, sulfates, and nitrates of calcium and magnesium.
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82 |
0 NonCODE INSTALLATION — Functional refrigerating system installed where there are no local, state, or national refrigeration codes in force.
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83 |
0 NonCONDENSABLES — Gaseous material not liquefied when associated water vapor is condensed in the same environment.
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84 |
0 NonDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION (NDI)
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85 |
0 NonFERROUS ALLOY — Alloy containing less then 50 % iron.
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86 |
0 NonFROSTING EVAPORATOR — Evaporator which never collects frost or ice on its surface. Uses only thermostatic expansion valves.
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87 |
0 NonMECHANICAL REFRIGERATION — Those that obtain the required high and low pressure by some method other than a mechanical compressor.
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88 |
0 NonREACTIVE 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 [..]
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89 |
0 Nonroa-opt|non, fromla|n?n||not.
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90 |
0 Nonindividual —
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91 |
0 Nonstress test
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92 |
0 Nonobservable fault — A fault is considered non-observable if its effects cannot be measured at any network output.
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93 |
0 NonPossibly derived from Latin nonna meaning "nun". According to tradition, this was the name of the mother of Saint David.
|
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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
n → Ausbleiben nt; (of train, plane, letter also) → Nichteintreffen nt
nonattendance
n → Nichtteilnahme f (→ at an +dat)
nonavailability
n → Unerhältlichkeit f; (of person) → Unabkömmlichkeit f
nonbook
adj (= relating to media other than books) → Non-Book-; non item → Non-Book-Artikel m; non media → andere Medien als Bücher
non
:
non-Christian
n → Nichtchrist(in) m(f)
non-com
n (Mil inf) → Uffz m (sl)
noncombatant
n → Nichtkämpfer(in) m(f), → Nonkombattant(in) m(f) (spec)
non-communicant
n (Eccl) → Nichtkommunikant(in) m(f)
non-completion
n → Nichtbeendung 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 scheme → ohne Eigenbeteiligung; member → beitragsfrei
noncooperative
adj → unkooperativ
non-delivery
n → Nichtlieferung f
non-departure
n (of train, flight) → Ausfall m
non
:
nondiscrimination
n → Nichtdiskriminierung f (→ against, towards +gen); non principle → Diskriminierungsverbot nt
nondrinker
n → Nichttrinker(in) m(f); she is a non → sie trinkt keinen Alkohol
nondriver
n → Nichtfahrer(in) m(f); nons are … → wer selbst nicht (Auto) fährt, ist …
non-dutiable
adj → unverzollbar
non
:
nonexecutive
adj in a non capacity → ohne Entscheidungsbefugnis; non director → ˜ Aufsichtsratsmitglied nt (ohne Entscheidungsbefugnis)
nonexistence
n → Nichtvorhandensein nt; (Philos) → Nichtexistenz f
non-fat
adj diet → fettlos; food → fettarm
non-fat milk
n → Milchersatz m (auf pflanzlicher Basis)
nonfiction
adj non book/publication → Sachbuch nt; non department → Sachbuchabteilung f
non-governmental
adj non organization → regierungsunabhängige Organisation
non-impact printer
n → Non-Impact-Drucker m, → anschlagfreier Drucker
nonintervention
n (Pol etc) → Nichteinmischung f, → Nichteingreifen nt (→ in in +acc)
nonmember
n → Nichtmitglied nt; (of society also) → Nichtangehörige(r) mf; open to nons → Gäste willkommen
non-migratory
adj non bird → Standvogel m, → Nichtzieher m (spec)
non
:
non
:
non
:
non-profit-making, (US) nonprofit
non-run
adj (esp US) stockings → maschenfest, laufmaschensicher
non
:
nonstarter
n
(in race) (= person) → Nichtstartende(r) mf; (= horse) → nicht startendes Pferd; there were two nons → zwei traten nicht an
non-U
adj (Brit) charakteristisch für die Gewohnheiten, Sprechweise etc des Kleinbürgertums, → nicht vornehm
nonvocational
adj subject, course → nicht berufsorientiert
nonvoting
adj non shares → stimmrechtslose 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.
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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.
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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