Meaning & use
nonsensical
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not making sense; so illogical or silly that it is hard to take seriously.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun or after linking verbs like be, seem, sound: a nonsensical rule; the rule sounds nonsensical.
Patterns
- nonsensical idea/claim/rule
- it is nonsensical to do something
- sound/seem nonsensical
The report was full of nonsensical claims that no scientist could support.
It is nonsensical to ban bicycles on a street that has no sidewalk.
His excuse sounded nonsensical, so nobody believed him.
adjectivenot comparable
Spoken or written in words that have no clear meaning; impossible to understand.
Grammar: Often describes language, sentences, or a mixture of words rather than situations.
Patterns
- nonsensical words/sentence
- nonsensical talk
- come out as nonsensical
The toddler chattered away in a nonsensical mix of real words and invented ones.
After the stroke, some of her sentences came out nonsensical.
The translation was so bad that whole paragraphs were nonsensical.
Common combinations
- a nonsensical argument
- The lawyer dismissed the whole argument as nonsensical.
- seem/sound nonsensical
- At first the plan sounded nonsensical, but it actually worked.
- completely/totally nonsensical
- The instructions were completely nonsensical and we gave up.
- nonsensical to say/claim
- It is nonsensical to claim the law helps poor families.
- nonsensical rules
- Students complained about the nonsensical rules on dress and hair.
Synonyms and how they differ
- absurd
- Stronger and more emotional; it suggests something is ridiculous as well as illogical, while nonsensical simply says it does not make sense.
- illogical
- Focuses on faulty reasoning rather than on meaning; a plan can be illogical but still clearly expressed, whereas nonsensical language is hard to understand at all.
- meaningless
- Says there is no meaning or purpose, often with a sad tone; nonsensical stresses that the meaning is broken or silly.
- ridiculous
- An informal, judging word about something that deserves laughter; use nonsensical when you want a more neutral comment on logic.
Opposites
Word family
- nonsense noun
- Speech or writing that makes no sense, or behavior that is silly.
- nonsensically adverb
- In a way that does not make sense: he spoke nonsensically.
Commonly confused: nonsensical or nonsense? nonsensical or nonsensitive?
nonsensical vs nonsense
Nonsense is a noun (talk nonsense, a load of nonsense); nonsensical is the adjective used before nouns or after be: a nonsensical idea.
nonsensical vs nonsensitive
This means 'not sensitive' (nonsensitive data, nonsensitive skin) and sounds similar but has a completely different meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses nonsensical correctly?
Choose one answer.
Nonsensical is an adjective, so it fits after 'was' describing 'the whole plan'. Options 1 and 2 wrongly use it as an adverb (the adverb is nonsensically), and option 3 wrongly uses it as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonsensical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.