Standard Lemma guide

noncommittal

adj · noun · 4 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌnɒnkəˈmɪtl̩/
  • US: /ˌnɑnkəˈmɪtl̩/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: N AA1 N K AH0 M IH1 T AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Tending to avoid commitment; lacking certainty or decisiveness; reluctant to give out information or show one's feelings or opinion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The Major's face was noncommittal.
  • The noncommittal Indians would give no counsel as to fording.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Failure to commit to a decision or course of action.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A voter etc. who has not yet committed to a decision.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

refusing to bind oneself to a particular course of action or view or the like

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • her boyfriend was noncommittal about their future together

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From non- + committal.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: уклончив (uklončiv) — tending to avoid commitment
  • French: évasif — tending to avoid commitment
  • Galician: evasivo — tending to avoid commitment
  • German: unverbindlich — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: diplomatikus — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: semleges — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: tartózkodó — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: óvatos — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: állást nem foglaló — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: elköteleződés nélküli — tending to avoid commitment
  • Hungarian: semmire sem kötelező — tending to avoid commitment
  • Japanese: どっちつかずの (dotchi tsukazu no) — tending to avoid commitment
  • Māori: whēangaanga — tending to avoid commitment
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uforpliktende — tending to avoid commitment
  • Norwegian Bokmål: reservert — tending to avoid commitment
  • Occitan: evasiu — tending to avoid commitment
  • Occitan: reservat — tending to avoid commitment
  • Polish: niezdecydowany — tending to avoid commitment
  • Polish: wymijający — tending to avoid commitment
  • Portuguese: sem compromisso — tending to avoid commitment
  • Spanish: no comprometedor — tending to avoid commitment
  • Spanish: poco comprometedor — tending to avoid commitment
  • Spanish: sin compromiso — tending to avoid commitment
  • Turkish: belirsiz — tending to avoid commitment
  • Turkish: müphem — tending to avoid commitment