non·sense
ˌnän-ˌsen(t)s 
ˈnän(t)-sən(t)s
1
a
: words or language having no meaning or conveying no intelligible ideas
"And the mome raths outgrabe" is pure nonsense.
b(1)
: language, conduct, or an idea that is absurd or contrary to good sense
To regard the struggle for existence as tragic, however, is logical nonsense.—
O. B. Hardison, Jr.
O. B. Hardison, Jr.
(2)
: an instance of absurd action
Today's teenagers are … sharp observers of the nonsenses of adult life and society …—Bernard Trafford
Bernard Trafford2
3
: genetic information consisting of one or more codons that do not code for any amino acid and usually cause termination of the molecular chain in protein synthesis (see synthesis sense 1)
Synonyms
Noun
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- claptrap
- codswallop [British]
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- jazz
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rot
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
Examples of nonsense in a Sentence
Noun
I don't know why you believe that nonsense about certain numbers being unlucky.
She thinks that astrology is nonsense.
Don't listen to him. He's talking nonsense.
He was not in the mood to put up with any nonsense from his little brother.
If they start pushing each other or some such nonsense, send them to their rooms.
She doesn't take any nonsense from anyone.
Many of the words in the poem are nonsense.
I understood so few of the words they were using that the conversation sounded like nonsense to me.
Recent Examples on the Web
Eric Miquelon, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
There is no nonsense in Ron Norsworthy’s gaze or tone.
—Essence, 5 Nov. 2024
Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
The lyrics are nonsense — what’s all this about spiders?
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for nonsense 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
And yeah, some of the items on his list are utter nonsense.
—Eric Miquelon, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
There is no nonsense in Ron Norsworthy’s gaze or tone.
—Essence, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Eclipse one of many reasons 'flat Earth' claims are nonsense
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, skeptics continue to believe the Earth is flat, a conspiracy theory experts say dangerously feeds into paranoia and spurs an unhealthy skepticism of all science and credible authorities.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
The lyrics are nonsense — what’s all this about spiders?
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for nonsense
Dictionary Entries Near nonsense
Cite this Entry
“Nonsense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonsense. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
nonsense
1 of 2 noun
non·sense
ˈnän-ˌsen(t)s, ˈnän(t)-sən(t)s
nonsense
2 of 2 adjective
: consisting of one or more codons that are genetic nonsense
nonsense mutations
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