Standard Lemma guide

no-nonsense

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Practical, not tolerating from others or concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Her no-nonsense way of resolving issues impressed her superiors.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

No-frills.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

not tolerating irrelevancies

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the no-nonsense tones of a stern parent

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: no-nonsense — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Finnish: suoraviivainen — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Finnish: tosikkomainen — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Finnish: totinen — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • German: sachlich — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • German: nüchtern — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Polish: rzeczowy — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Polish: poważny — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Russian: серьёзный (serʹjóznyj) — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant
  • Russian: деловой (delovoj) — practical, not concerning oneself with anything silly or unimportant