Standard Lemma guide

nonexistence

noun · 2 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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  • rhymes with -ɪstəns

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of not existing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The nonexistence of Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy came as something of a shock.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the state of not existing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nonentity

Antonyms: existence

Broader terms: nonbeing

Narrower terms: unreality, irreality, nothingness, void, nullity, nihility, impossibility, impossibleness

History

Etymology

From non- + existence.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَدَم (ʕadam) — The state of not existing
  • Catalan: inexistència — The state of not existing
  • Esperanto: neekzistado — The state of not existing
  • French: non-existence — The state of not existing
  • Georgian: არარსებულობა (ararsebuloba) — The state of not existing
  • Greek: ανυπαρξία (anyparxía) — The state of not existing
  • Hindi: अनस्तित्व (anastitva) — The state of not existing
  • Italian: inesistenza — The state of not existing
  • Japanese: 非実在 (hijitsuzai) — The state of not existing
  • Central Kurdish: لەناوچوون (lenawçûn) — The state of not existing
  • Central Kurdish: نەمان (neman) — The state of not existing
  • Macedonian: непосто́ење (nepostóenje) — The state of not existing
  • Macedonian: неби́тие (nebítie) — The state of not existing
  • Polish: nieistnienie — The state of not existing
  • Portuguese: inexistência — The state of not existing
  • Russian: несуществова́ние (nesuščestvovánije) — The state of not existing
  • Sanskrit: असत् (asat) — The state of not existing
  • Slovak: neexistencia — The state of not existing
  • Spanish: inexistencia — The state of not existing
  • Ukrainian: неіснува́ння (neisnuvánnja) — The state of not existing
  • Ukrainian: небуття́ (nebuttjá) — The state of not existing