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 WebBrian Fung, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
While the Republican base may be smitten with Trump, plenty of big-money donors are skittish about bankrolling his nonsense.
—Michelle Cottle, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nonsense 
Noun
When setting up those questions and answers for the first time, consider using your password manager to generate nonsense answers that don’t involve sharing your personal biographical information.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
While the Republican base may be smitten with Trump, plenty of big-money donors are skittish about bankrolling his nonsense.
—Michelle Cottle, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nonsense
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonsense.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near nonsense
Cite this Entry
“Nonsense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonsense. Accessed 4 May. 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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