non-actn.
/ˈnɒnakt/, U.S. /ˈnɑnˌæk(t)/ Something which is not an act; a failure to act.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > [noun] > not an act or failure to act
faultc1325
failancea1627
non-act1645
1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Trivmph of Faith (1845) 288 Faith..turneth all these acts..half to non-acts.
1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 195 'Tis not a Non-act, which introduces a custom.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 457/2 Non-act, a forbearance from action, the contrary to act.
1939 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 4 216 Their religion was made up of a great mass of practices to conciliate or gain power from their many individual supernaturals, any one of which had potency only for particular acts or nonacts.
1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 390 This whole non-act you're trying to float is one large loose end.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1645