Meaning & use
nonalcoholic
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Not containing alcohol; especially describing a drink.
Grammar: Usually comes before the noun: 'nonalcoholic beer'. It is not used after a verb like 'be' in everyday speech; say 'This beer has no alcohol' instead of 'This beer is nonalcoholic'.
Patterns
- nonalcoholic drink
- nonalcoholic beverage
- nonalcoholic beer
- nonalcoholic wine
The bar offers a range of nonalcoholic cocktails.
She ordered a nonalcoholic beer because she was driving.
Please make sure there are nonalcoholic options at the party.
Common combinations
- nonalcoholic drink
- They served nonalcoholic drinks for the children.
- nonalcoholic beer
- He switched to nonalcoholic beer after giving up alcohol.
- nonalcoholic wine
- Nonalcoholic wine is becoming more popular in restaurants.
- nonalcoholic beverage
- The hotel provides complimentary nonalcoholic beverages.
Synonyms and how they differ
- soft
- In British English, a soft drink is a sweet, nonalcoholic drink like cola or lemonade; nonalcoholic is broader and can describe beer or wine without alcohol.
- alcohol-free
- Alcohol-free often means a drink contains no alcohol at all, while nonalcoholic may contain a tiny amount (less than 0.5%).
Opposites
Commonly confused: nonalcoholic or non-alcoholic?
nonalcoholic vs non-alcoholic
The hyphenated form is common in British English; the closed form 'nonalcoholic' is standard in American English.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence? 'The restaurant has a separate menu of ______ cocktails for people who don't drink alcohol.'
Choose one answer.
'Nonalcoholic' means without alcohol, which fits the context of people who don't drink alcohol. 'Alcoholic' means containing alcohol, the opposite meaning. 'Nonalignment' and 'nonaligned' relate to politics, not drinks.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonalcoholic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.