Adjacent Words

non- definitions

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Merriam Webster's

prefix 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 1. not ; other than ; reverse of ; absence of <nontoxic> <nonlinear> 2. of little or no consequence ; unimportant ; worthless <nonissues> <nonsystem> 3. lacking the usual especially positive characteristics of the thing specified <noncelebration> <nonart>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

prefix giving the negative sense of words with which it is combined, esp.: 1 not doing or having or involved with (non-attendance; non-payment; non-productive). 2 a not of the kind or class described (non-alcoholic; non-member; non-event). b forming terms used adjectivally (non-union; non-party). 3 a lack of (non-access). 4 (with adverbs) not in the way described (non-aggressively). 5 forming adjectives from verbs, meaning 'that does not' or 'that is not meant to (or to be)' (non-skid; non-iron). 6 used to form a neutral negative sense when a form in in- or un- has a special sense or (usu. unfavourable) connotation (non-controversial; non-effective; non-human). Usage: The number of words that can be formed with this prefix is unlimited; consequently only a selection, considered the most current or semantically noteworthy, can be given here. Etymology: from or after ME no(u)n- f. AF noun-, OF non-, nom- f. L non not

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Non- Non- [L. non, OL. noenu, noenum, fr. neoenum, lit., not one. See None.] A prefix used in the sense of not; un-; in-; as in nonattention, or non-attention, nonconformity, nonmetallic, nonsuit. Note: The prefix non- may be joined to the leading word by means of a hyphen, or, in most cases, the hyphen may be dispensed with. The list of words having the prefix non- could easily be lengthened.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Non- is used in front of adjectives and nouns to form adjectives that describe something as not having a particular quality or feature. ...non-nuclear weapons... ...non-verbal communication. PREFIX 2. Non- is used in front of nouns to form nouns which refer to situations where a particular action has not or will not take place. He was disqualified from the council for non-attendance... Both countries agreed that normal relations would be based on non-interference in each other's internal affairs. PREFIX 3. Non- is used in front of nouns to form nouns which refer to people who do not belong to a particular group or category. Children of smokers are more likely to start smoking than are children of non-smokers. PREFIX