nonsense

Definition

Letters or words, in writing or speech, that have no meaning or pattern or seem to have no meaning.

Etymology

From non- (“no, none, lack of”) + sense, from c. 1610. Compare the semantically similar West Frisian ûnsin (“nonsense”), Dutch onzin (“nonsense”), German Unsinn (“nonsense”), English unsense (“nonsense”).

Example Sentences

• "After my father had a stroke, every time he tried to talk, it sounded like nonsense."
• "You have seen it for yourselves in the play by Aristophanes, where Socrates goes whirling round, proclaiming that he is walking on air, and uttering a great deal of other nonsense about things of which I know nothing whatsoever."
• "While at the hospital, David kept screaming and yelling nonsense, stating Vladimir Putin bailed him out of jail and is a god."

Related Words