nonsensen.adj.
/ˈnɒns(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˈnɑnˌsɛns/, /ˈnɑns(ə)ns/ A. n.
I. Senses relating to absence of rationality or meaning.† 5. A meaning that makes no sense. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. That which is not sense; absurd or meaningless words or ideas.Esp. in recent linguistic use often spelt non-sense to avoid connotations of absurdity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun]
magged talea1387
moonshine1468
trumperyc1485
foolishness1531
trash1542
baggage1545
flim-flam1570
gear1570
rubbisha1576
fiddle-faddle1577
stuff1579
fible-fable1581
balductum1593
pill1608
nonsense1612
skimble-skamble1619
porridge1642
mataeology1656
fiddle-come-faddle1663
apple sauce1672
balderdash1674
flummery1749
slang1762
all my eye1763
diddle-daddle1778
(all) my eye (and) Betty Martin1781
twaddle1782
blancmange1790
fudge1791
twiddle-twaddle1798
bothering1803
fee-faw-fum1811
slip-slop1811
nash-gab1816
flitter-tripe1822
effutiation1823
bladderdash1826
ráiméis1828
fiddlededee1843
pickles1846
rot1846
kelter1847
bosh1850
flummadiddle1850
poppycock1852
Barnum1856
fribble-frabble1859
kibosh1860
skittle1864
cod1866
Collyweston1867
punk1869
slush1869
stupidness1873
bilge-water1878
flapdoodle1878
tommyrot1880
ruck1882
piffle1884
flamdoodle1888
razzmatazz1888
balls1889
pop1890
narrischkeit1892
tosh1892
footle1894
tripe1895
crap1898
bunk1900
junk1906
quatsch1907
bilge1908
B.S.1912
bellywash1913
jazz1913
wash1913
bullshit?1915
kid-stakes1916
hokum1917
bollock1919
bullsh1919
bushwa1920
noise1920
bish-bosh1922
malarkey1923
posh1923
hooey1924
shit1924
heifer dust1927
madam1927
baloney1928
horse feathers1928
phonus-bolonus1929
rhubarb1929
spinach1929
toffeea1930
tomtit1930
hockey1931
phoney baloney1933
moody1934
cockalorum1936
cock1937
mess1937
waffle1937
berley1941
bull dust1943
crud1943
globaloney1943
hubba-hubba1944
pish1944
phooey1946
asswipe1947
chickenshit1947
slag1948
batshit1950
goop1950
slop1952
cack1954
doo-doo1954
cobbler1955
horse shit1955
nyamps1955
pony1956
horse manure1957
waffling1958
bird shit1959
codswallop1959
how's your father1959
dog shit1963
cods1965
shmegegge1968
pucky1970
taradiddle1970
mouthwash1971
wank1974
gobshite1977
mince1985
toss1990
arse1993
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [noun] > in conduct
harlotryc1384
May game1571
scogginism1593
buffianism1596
delirium1599
fooling1602
scoggery1602
buffoonism1611
nonsense1612
scurrility1614
buffoonery1621
buffooninga1672
buffoon1780
pantomime1781
zanyism1823
harlequinade1828
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [noun]
insolidity1578
emptiness1579
insignificancy1651
no-meaning1672
insignificance1754
inexpression1796
inexpressiveness1815
vacuousness1816
unmeaningness1825
unmeaning1839
pointlessness1845
non-significance1846
meaninglessness1853
unsuggestiveness1858
unexpressiveness1885
nonsense1942
1612 A. Stafford Meditations & Resolutions 101 Others againe, by an vnwittie application, make non-Sense; and infuse lothing into the nice stomack of the Reader. I wil apply nothing, which may not imply something.
1629 F. Quarles Argalus & Parthenia To Rdr. sig. A3 Many haue ventured (trusting to the Oedipean conceit of their ingenious Reader) to write non-sense.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre iv. iv. 59 (stage direct.) in Wks. II Here they continue their game of vapours, which is non sense.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 222 For learned Nonsense has a deeper Sound, Than easy Sense, and goes for more profound.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No 35 ¶1 If they speak Nonsense, they believe they are talking Humour.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Apr. (1965) I. 399 I understand Architecture so Little that I am affraid of talking Nonsense in endeavouring to speak of it particularly.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 17 This doctrine..either is nonsense, and therefore neither true nor false, or it affirms a most..dangerous..position. View more context for this quotation
1859 N. Hawthorne French & Ital. Note-bks. (1871) II. 345 I am writing nonsense, but it is because no sense within my mind will answer the purpose.
1894 G. M. Fenn In Alpine Valley I. 28 ‘You are not [dying], John dear. It's all stuff and nonsense,’ said the little lady.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxvi. 294 You'll get a pack of nonsense into your heads and waste time that should be put on your lessons.
1942 T. S. Eliot Mus. Poetry 14 His [sc. Lear's] non-sense is not vacuity of sense: it is a parody of sense, and that is the sense of it.
1965 Eng. Stud. 46 322 A ‘steep ford’ is quite obvious non~sense.
1993 D. Dunn Dante's Drum-Kit iii. 68 A man with two cans..Sways on the street Shouting nonsense.
b. Foolish or extravagant conduct; silliness, misbehaviour. Chiefly in negative contexts, as to stand (also take) no nonsense, there is no nonsense about (a person), etc.to knock the nonsense out of: see knock v. 6e.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > [noun] > action, behaviour
ribaldyc1330
niceheada1475
simpleness?a1475
foolery1562
motley1575
foolationa1635
simples1637
nonsense1678
follying1818
boobery1829
spoonism1839
moonraking1846
lallygagging1868
bohunkus1918
twattery?1979
1678 A. Behn Sir Patient Fancy IV. i I have no leasure to attend your nonsense.
1757 P. Bacon Oculist i. 45 You don't see your nonsense and wickedness.
1799 C. Smith What is She? iii. iii. 41 Hav'n't you done with your nonsense yet?
1816 W. Scott Antiquary I. xiii. 272 Come, let us have no more of this nonsense.
1821 Sporting Mag. 8 233 Smith would stand no nonsense.
1836 G. Stephen Adventures in Search of Horse (1841) i. 4 There was ‘no nonsense about him’ [sc. a horse],..but he unluckily moved like a castle!
1872 M. MacLennan Peasant Life 97 Noo, nae nanesense, Aileen.
1915 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Island xxviii. 235 Miss Carson is a very fine girl. There is no nonsense about her.
1955 D. Eden Darling Clementine (1959) 50 She was a plump healthy-looking girl with a pleasant face and thick blonde hair twisted into neat coils beneath her cap. She looked as if she would stand no nonsense.
1958 J. Barth End of Road iii. 30 Perhaps because it was a weekday, there was not a girl on the beach worth the necessary nonsense involved in a pickup.
1994 Times Mag. 8 Jan. 30/2 The guides themselves..are sunny, bright and boppy, but take no nonsense.
c. Used as an exclamation to express disbelief or surprise at a statement. Cf. stuff and nonsense at stuff n.1 8b.
ΚΠ
a1704 T. Brown Wks. (1715) IV. 98 Absurd, and Nonsense!
1776 H. Cowley Runaway 48 Geo. On whom he doats. Bel. Pshaw! Geo. Grows melancholy. Bel. Nonsense! Geo. Fights for her. Bel. Ridiculous.
1803 G. Colman John Bull iii. ii. 48 Service, nonsense!.. I'll put you into a situation in town.
1821 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 10 Nov. 4/3 The men who are farmers by book are no farmers for me... Let those who follow husbandry for amusement, try experiments. Poh, nonsense!
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities ii. xviii. 128 You didn't mean it..and therefore how could you know it? Nonsense!
1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xliii. 452 Apply the Testament's gentleness, and charity, and tender mercy to a toiling, worn and weary horse?—Nonsense—these are for God's human creatures, not His dumb ones.
1918 W. Cather My Ántonia iii. iv. 328 ‘Why, I'm not going to marry anybody. Did n't you know that?’ ‘Nonsense, Lena. That's what girls say, but you know better.’
1952 P. Bowles Let it come Down ii. 18 ‘You don't know what you're letting yourself in for,’ said Wilcox, laughing unpleasantly. ‘Nonsense!’ Daisy exclaimed.
1993 J. Kay Other Lovers 30 Videos in your bathroom—nonsense.
2. Absurdity, nonsensicalness. With of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [noun]
wantonnessc1405
absurdity1529
monstruousness1545
impertinency1573
ridiculousness1573
monstrousness1574
absurd1581
absurdness1582
incongruity1597
fancy1598
delirium1599
monstruosity1604
absurdum1606
foppishness1611
impertinence1616
nonsense1630
impertinentness1645
irrationality1647
monstrosity1651
nonsensicality1652
ridicule1668
ridicule1672
nonsensicalness1674
maggotry1706
preposterousness1727
zanyship1766
ridiculosity1773
drollness1823
stultification1832
nonsensity1834
farcicality1849
cockeyedness1858
1630 W. Bedell Let. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. clii. 421 I shewed the false Latin, Non-sence, injustice of it.
1660 T. Pierce Impartial Inq. Nature Sin To Rdr. (margin) Compare the non-sense with the impiety of the expression.
1689 R. Gould Poems 57 The Wiser few..the Nonsense of your Fasts detect.
1767 E. Lloyd Conversation 49 Hence with thy trump'ry Nonsense of Gazette, Memorials, Proclamations, and Couriers.
1796 C. Dibdin Love's Lesson 4 If the nonsense of love by the letter you take..The undeceiv'd senses..Those which substances seem'd, flitting shadows shall find.
1834 L. Hunt London Jrnl. 26 Nov. in Ess. & Sketches 376 The possibilities of human education, and the nonsense of ill-will.
1908 M. J. Cawein Poems II. 230 The battle killed All that sweet nonsense of his youth.
1971 D. Robinson Goshawk Squadron 182 Despite the transparent nonsense of it all, Finlayson felt his guts tighten at the word cowardice.
1995 Economist 20 May (South Africa Survey Suppl.) 5/1 The resignation with which conservative Afrikanerdom has accepted the new order exposes the nonsense of its supposed inflexibility of its people.
3. Insubstantial or worthless matter, frippery; a trivial or worthless thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > that which is unimportant > insubstantial > collectively
nonsense1638
1638 A. Cowley Loves Riddle iv. sig. D5 Our desires..are Loves nonsence, wrapt up in thicke clouds.
1648 J. Beaumont Psyche v. i. 58 What royall Non-sense is a Diademe Abroad, for One who's not at Home supream!
1687 J. Norris Coll. Misc. 24 I find This busie World is Non-sense all.
1855 W. M. Thackeray Rose & Ring I know who'll give me much finer things than your beggarly little pearl nonsense.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb. 12/1 Six dollars a week for slippers, and three more for ‘ribbons and bits of chiffon nonsense’.
1987 Z. Tomin Coast of Bohemia i. 31 I'll get the boots for you, you'd only buy yourself another flimsy nonsense.
4. As a count noun: a piece of nonsense; a ridiculous notion or idea; an arrangement of which one disapproves; a muddle, a fiasco. Now frequently (chiefly British) in to make a nonsense of: to reduce the value of to a ridiculous degree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [noun] > failure or going wrong > instance of
miscarriage1590
nonsense1646
slip-up1909
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [noun] > instance of
flim-flam1546
delirium1599
bull1640
nonsense1646
fandango1841
fiddlededee1843
flapdoodle1878
1646 H. Hammond View Exceptions to Visct. Falkland's Disc. Infallibilitie 98 Every new nonsense will be more acceptable..then any old sense.
1655 tr. C. Sorel Comical Hist. Francion ii. 35 He understood not French very well, nor I his Fustian Language; so our discourse was a perpetuall Nonsense.
1803 W. Scott Let. 14 Sept. (1932) I. 204 I daresay I shall go on scribbling one nonsense or another to the end of the chapter.
1827 Freedom's Jrnl. (Electronic text) 22 June And who is this garrulous curiosity..this Niagara of nonsenses?
1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags iii. 212 Lyne made a nonsense of the embarkation.
1957 Listener 30 May 873 Size is essential for efficiency. A small steel works..is an economic nonsense.
1962 Movie June 6/2 Ambitious nonsenses like The Entertainer and Flame in the Streets.
1985 C. Phillips Final Passage 164 It made a nonsense of their reunion, for her marriage was again to be tolerated, not shared.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > [noun] > instance of
non-significant1605
nonsense1650
insignificancy1651
mean-nothing1654
insignificant1816
unmeaningness1864
phlizz1889
small fry1893
1650 Truth's Confl. with Error i. 11 This is to put a nonsense upon the place, and to destroy the savor that is in it.
1711 A. Pope Let. 25 June in Corr. (1956) I. 122 How easy it is to any one to give a new sense, or a new nonsense, to what the author intended.
II. Senses relating to physical sensation.† 6. Lack of feeling or physical sensation. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > want of or incapacity for emotion
dryheada1300
lethargyc1380
drynessc1450
dumping1542
unsensibility1551
insensibleness?1555
unsensibleness?1555
stupidity1568
stolidity1570
stupor1570
dumpishness1574
senselessness1577
innaturality1579
astoniedness1580
impassibility1603
stupefaction1603
torpor1607
deadness1611
unsufferance1611
hebetude1621
nonsense1621
drought1622
hebetation1623
obstupefaction1625
unanswerableness1626
tastelessnessa1631
insensateness1646
impassiveness1648
obtuseness1648
barrenness1655
torpulency1657
sterility1661
spiritlessness1669
unspiritedness1669
unaffectedness1678
insensibility1691
stolidness1727
apathy1742
impenetrableness1747
unfeelingness1766
impassivity1794
unfeeling1805
soullessness1811
incommobility1822
obtusity1823
unimpressibleness1830
hardhead1836
stockishness1837
insensitiveness1838
impenetrability1847
unreceptivity1849
unsusceptibility1850
woodenness1854
unimpressionability1862
irresponsiveness1864
unresponsiveness1869
impassibleness1874
irreceptivity1881
unimpressibility1889
apatheia1893
inemotivity1894
affectlessness1921
insensitivity1957
1621 in T. Bedford Sinne unto Death A i b Disquietnesse of Conscience [growes] into a numbdnesse or non-sense.
B. adj. (usually attributive).† 2. colloquial. Of a person: full of nonsense; ridiculous, silly. Obsolete.
1.
a. That is nonsense; nonsensical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [adjective]
impertinenta1425
royeta1522
absurd1531
preposterous1533
ridiculous1533
deaf?1541
monstrous?1549
fabulous1561
fanatical1598
fantastical1600
laughable1600
fantasticc1616
nonsense1621
arsy-versy1628
absonous1642
nonsensical1645
ridicule?1669
fancical1671
grotesque1747
rich1836
saugrenu1876
laughsome1884
cockeyed1894
hilarious1925
Rube Goldberg1928
whimsy-whamsy1931
Rube Goldbergian1933
cockamamie1941
fantasticated1960
fanciful-
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > [adjective]
tooma1250
beggarly1526
trumpery1576
balductum1577
skimble-skamble1598
nonsense1621
warbling1621
flim-flam1631
nonsensical1645
unsensical1692
fiddlecome1697
waffling1698
mataeological1716
flummery1749
water-gruelish1788
slip-sloppish1797
twaddling1804
twaddle1830
twaddly1841
fee-faw-fumish1846
poppycock1852
boshy1860
twaddlesome1865
moonshiny1880
cockalorum1881
tommyrotic1894
crappy1928
ballsy1942
farkakte1960
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. iv. i. v. 444 A few simples well..vnderstood, are far better then such a heap of non-sense confused compounds.
1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. iv. §47. 217 Some empty unintelligible non-sense distinction.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 191 Put case the way of washing in Jordan bee irrationall and non-sense to thy wit and reason.
1784 H. More Let. (1925) 100 Whereas Horace, liking nonsense-talk better than to be always with the Greeks and Romans, I sometimes get more than my share of him.
1823 C. Lamb Quakers' Meeting in Elia 109 Tired..of the janglings, and nonsense-noises of the world.
1858 M. Oliphant Laird of Norlaw II. 127 This is not a nonsense letter—will you read it, mother?
1970 Sci. Jrnl. Aug. 3/3 The idea that world energy production must continue to rise indefinitely is a nonsense concept.
b. Esp. of language, a poem, or song: consisting or composed (usually deliberately) of nonsense.nonsense book: see Compounds 1. See also nonsense verse n., nonsense word n. at Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
c1670 in Bodl. Rawl. Ms D. 191 f. 5v [At Eaton] they make verses at 3 in ye even & make 30 or 40 lines of Theme by next morning. They make nonsense verses at 1st.
1842 Rep. Brit. Assoc. 118 Nonsense names.—Some authors..have adopted the plan of coining words at random without any derivation or meaning whatever.
1871 E. Lear (title) Nonsense songs, stories, botany and alphabets.
1932 H. J. Laski in Holmes–Laski Lett. (1953) II. 1376 You English..are the only people in the world with a nonsense-literature which a man can read with pleasure.
1977 P. Leach Baby & Child vi. 421 All pre-school children love nonsense rhymes and nonsense words.
1986 G. M. Wolfe Crit. Terms for Sci. Fiction & Fantasy 82 Nonsense narratives are allied to fantasy, in that they are usually fantastic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > giddiness, empty-headedness > [adjective]
idlec825
giddyc1000
volage?a1366
apec1370
foolisha1382
vain1390
idleful1483
volageous1487
glaikit1488
cock-brained1530
apish1532
empty1550
sillyc1555
frivolous?1563
tickle-headed1583
light-braineda1593
frothy1593
owlish1596
bird-witted1605
empty-headed1614
idle-headed1614
empty-pateda1628
marmosetical1630
grollish1637
feather-headed1647
nonsense1647
whirl-crowned1648
feather-brained1649
swimmering1650
soft-pated1651
weather-headeda1652
shuttlecock1660
drum-headed1664
chicken-brained1678
halokit1724
desipient1727
shatter-pated1727
scattered-brained1747
light-thoughted1777
scatter-brained1804
shandy-pated1806
hellicat1815
feather-pated1819
inane1819
weather-brained1826
bubble-headed1827
tomfoolish1838
bird-brained1892
tottle1894
fluffy1898
scatty1911
wandery1912
scattery1924
twitterpated1943
1647 J. Gauden Hinc Illæ Lachrymæ 4 One Gorton, another Non-sense Anabaptisticall Preacher, forsooth, and a most base fellow.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iii. xi. 161 The Mistress of the House..told him, ‘she hoped his Honour would pardon her Husband, who was a very nonsense Man, for the sake of his poor Family.’ View more context for this quotation
1757 S. Foote Author i. 17 You are a nonsense Man, and I won't agree to any such Thing.
1871 G. MacDonald At Back of North Wind xxv. 231 There's baby fast asleep! Oh, what a nonsense baby it is—to sleep so much!
3. Molecular Biology. Of a codon: not specifying an amino acid; (of a mutation) giving rise to such a codon (and so perhaps bringing about premature termination of the synthesis of a polypeptide). Frequently in nonsense codon, nonsense mutation.
ΚΠ
1957 F. H. C. Crick et al. in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 43 418 We shall assume that there are certain sequences of three nucleotides with which an amino acid can be associated and certain others for which this is not possible. Using the metaphors of coding, we say that some of the 64 triplets make sense and some make nonsense.]
1961 Ann. Rev. Biochem. 30 651 An alteration in any base pair by a mutagen raises the possibility of a class of so-called nonsense mutations.
1964 G. H. Haggis et al. Introd. Molecular Biol. xii. 318 They then calculated that the sixty-four triplets could be divided..into two classes, with twenty meaningful triplets in one class and forty-four nonsense triplets in the other.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IV. 464/2 It is now known that there may be several codes for one amino acid and that there are nonsense codes that do not code anything.
1992 Cambr. Encycl. Human Evol. (1994) i. i. 12/3 If the mutation is to a stop codon, such as UGA, then the growing amino acid chain will be cut off—a nonsense mutation.
Compounds
C1.
a.
nonsense-maker n.
ΚΠ
1777 D. Garrick Let. 15 May in D. Garrick & G. Spencer Lett. (1960) 97 I shall bring the Nonsense & the Nonsense-maker to kiss your Ladyship's hands a little before five.
1990 I. Young Enigma Variations (BNC) The Enigma machine itself was a nonsense-maker in reverse.
nonsense-talker n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > [noun] > talkative person > one who talks nonsense or waffler
penduguma1529
gibble-gabbler1653
maunderer1827
nonsense-talkera1832
bunkumite1864
phlyarologist1867
twitterer1895
blitherer1902
bosher1913
gobshite1946
waffler1959
a1832 J. Bentham Deontology (1834) I. ii. 26 The moralist..would call his enemy..hypocrite, and nonsense-talker.
1993 Independent (Nexis) 1 Dec. 39 Trinidadians..had a programme on television where they would sit and talk nonsense and the best nonsense talker was highly respected.
nonsense-writer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > writer or author > [noun] > writers of other types of material
metaphrast1610
lasher1611
pastoralist1619
amorist1642
travel writer1711
party writer1715
Poor Richard1757
murdermonger1785
manners-painter1807
institutionalist1817
paroemiographer1823
nautical1831
nonsense-writera1835
recaster1841
serialist1845
snobographer1848
librettist1862
palindromist1872
fragmentist1874
text-man1900
scriptwriter1911
paradoxographer1917
absurdist1929
blogger1999
weblogger1999
a1835 T. Parker in J. Weiss Life & Corr. T. Parker (1864) 70 One of the greatest proofs of the darkness of the monastic ages is the folly-admiration bestowed upon these same nonsense writers.
1887 Spectator 17 Sept. 1251 The parent of modern nonsense-writers.
1997 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 11 July 22 Joseph Brookesbank and George Dalgarno..were not deliberate nonsense writers.
b. † nonsense-proof adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1778 Love-feast 12 Led by the Spirit to John's pantil'd Roof, Which many a vagrant Paul makes Nonsense-Proof.
C2.
nonsense book n. a book of nonsense or nonsense verses.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > [noun] > book of poems
anthology1624
poetry-book1772
poem-book1807
verse-book1849
nonsense book1874
poetry reader1895
slim volume1920
slim vol1953
1874 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 372/2 We like its free range—from the Iliad to the children's Nonsense Book.
2001 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Apr. Godfrey [suggested] to John Lennon an animated version of his nonsense book, A Spaniard in the Works.
nonsense poetry n. (originally) whimsical or nonsensical verse; (later) the genre of poetry that includes nonsense verse such as limericks, as well as looser poetic forms.
ΚΠ
1851 Harper's Mag. Aug. 378 We strolled in the evening through the fields and woods..as I poured forth the popular love and nonsense poetry of the time.
1899 New Cent. Rev. Jan. 30 What it is that constitutes successful nonsense poetry it is impossible to say, but all can distinguish the true article when they see it.
1938 L. MacNeice Mod. Poetry x. 182 Lear's nonsense poetry is the last flare-up of romanticism.
1998 M. Delville Amer. Prose Poem iii. vi. 189 The nonsense poetry of French Dadaist Tristan Tzara.
nonsense syllable n. a syllable formed by putting an arbitrary vowel between two arbitrary consonants, used in memory experiments and tests.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [noun] > syllabic sound > syllable > type of
breve1548
brief?1560
suppletive1666
alienisparsison1856
fortisparsison1856
gravisparsison1856
closed syllable1881
nonsense syllable1885
pre-head1958
1885 Mind 10 457 The saving of time effected in re-learning 104 nonsense syllables after various intervals.
1996 Science 13 Dec. 1849 Eight-month-old infants exposed for only 2 min to unbroken strings of nonsense syllables (for example, ‘bidakupado..’) are able to detect the difference.
nonsense word n. a word having no accepted meaning; (also) = nonsense syllable n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > linguistic unit > word > [noun] > nonsense word
nonsense word1846
1846 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 500/2 He sang one of those charming little Tiranas, to which he improvised the usual nonsense words as he proceeded.
1919 J. B. Watson Psychol. ix. 336 Nonsense words or syllables are made by separating two consonants with a vowel as ver, gax and moc.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring i. vi. 130 Out of a long string of nonsense-words (or so they seemed) the voice rose up loud and clear.
1990 Internat. Rev. Appl. Linguistics 28 296 A series of experiments on nonsense words—some pronounceable, some unpronounceable for particular language speakers (e.g. sland vs. ndasl).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
nonsensev.
/ˈnɒns(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˈnɑnˌsɛns/, /ˈnɑns(ə)ns/ rare in later use.
1. transitive. To make nonsense of; to describe or represent as nonsense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > utter nonsensically [verb (transitive)] > make nonsense of
nonsensify1649
nonsense1681
1681 R. Baxter Church-hist. Govt. Bishops (new ed.) xii. §170. 384 They would have so tost and torn, and sensed and nonsensed the Scripture, that they would have made it quite another thing.
1869 R. F. Burton Explor. Highlands Brazil II. xxiv. 355 M. Millivet..has grammaticized and nonsensed the word to ‘Santa Sé’.
1896 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 24 Oct. 441/2 At the Haymarket all this is nonsensed.
2002 Yorks. Post (Nexis) 28 Feb. Manager Moyes has nonsensed reports that he has been making a renewed effort to buy USA striker Brian McBride.
2. intransitive. To talk nonsense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > absence of meaning > nonsense, rubbish > use language nonsensically [verb (intransitive)]
roya1450
to talk (or speak) at rovers1542
nonsense1822
squiddle1824
twaddle1825
fudge1834
buncomize1871
to be full of prunes1887
waffle1900
jive1928
bullshit1942
to talk out of one's arse1973
1822 M. Edgeworth Let. 30 May (1971) 404 We have given most elegant repasts as I shall have the honor of describing to you soon when we are all together nonsenseing round Lucys sofa.
1890 J. R. Lowell Oriental Apologue in Writings 143 Each with unwonted zeal..Pished, pshawed, poohed, horribled, bahed, jeered, sneered, flouted, Sniffed, nonsensed, infideled, fudged.
1909 R. A. Wason Happy Hawkins 67 I nonsensed a while, tryin' to get her to laugh an' cut up, but not her.
1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 25 July Motoring along in the fog we nonsensed for hours on women.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1612
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