Meaning & use
nonexistent
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not real or not present at all; having no existence.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after linking verbs: a nonexistent problem; the problem is nonexistent.
Patterns
- be nonexistent
- almost nonexistent
- a nonexistent thing
The evidence for his claim is simply nonexistent.
In many rural areas, public transport is almost nonexistent.
She kept talking about a nonexistent rule that no one had ever heard of.
adjectivenot comparable
So small or weak as to be effectively absent, especially of a quality or feeling.
Grammar: Often used with abstract nouns like interest, demand, or support to say there is none worth mentioning.
Patterns
- interest is nonexistent
- demand was nonexistent
- support remained nonexistent
Interest in the old product was nonexistent by then.
Demand for tickets was nonexistent after the band canceled.
His enthusiasm for the project seemed nonexistent.
Common combinations
- almost nonexistent
- Rainfall has been almost nonexistent this month.
- virtually nonexistent
- Crime in the village is virtually nonexistent.
- nonexistent evidence
- The court dismissed the case for nonexistent evidence.
- nonexistent demand
- The shop closed because demand was nonexistent.
- prove nonexistent
- Scientists cannot prove that a thing is nonexistent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- imaginary
- Imaginary things exist only in someone's mind, like imaginary friends; nonexistent simply means there is nothing there at all.
- absent
- Absent means not present in a particular place or situation; nonexistent is stronger and says the thing does not exist anywhere.
- lacking
- Lacking means missing something that is needed or expected; nonexistent states flatly that there is none.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nonexistent or non-existing? nonexistent or inexistent?
nonexistent vs non-existing
'Non-existing' with a hyphen is sometimes seen but is not the standard spelling; write 'nonexistent' as one word.
nonexistent vs inexistent
'Inexistent' is rare and mostly nonstandard in everyday English; use 'nonexistent' instead.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'nonexistent' correctly and naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Nonexistent' means there is none at all, which fits the lack of customer interest. The other sentences treat it as if it meant heavy, late, or on time, but a thing that does not exist cannot have those qualities; for being away from a meeting, 'absent' is the right word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonexistent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.