adj · 6 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.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:N AA0 N L IH1 N IY2 ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of a set of points, not lying on a straight line.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: linear
2
adj
Meaning 2
Of a molecule, whose atoms do not lie in a straight line.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Of a function, having a product of independent variables, or a variable with an exponent not equal to one.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: mathematics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Of a system, whose output is not directly proportional to its input.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
adj
Meaning 5
Erratic and unpredictable; tending to jump back and forth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
a film with a nonlinear plot
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
adjective
Meaning 6
designating or involving an equation whose terms are not of the first degree
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: linear
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Germanic *ne Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h1óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-Germanic *nainaz Proto-West Germanic *nain Old English nān Middle English non ▲ Old English nān Old English nān- Middle English non- English non- Proto-Indo-European *līnomder. Proto-Italic *līnom Latin līnum Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Indo-European *-éyos Proto-Italic *-ejos Proto-Italic *-eos Latin -eus Latin līneus Latin līnea Proto-Indo-European *h2el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin -āris Latin līneārisbor. English linear English nonlinear From non- + linear.
Across languages
Translations
32 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Chinese Mandarin:
非線性 /非线性
(fēixiànxìng)
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
Finnish:
epälineaarinen
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
German:
nicht linear
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
German:
nichtlinear
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
Hindi:
अरैखिक
(araikhik)
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
Hindi:
अरेखीय
(arekhīya)
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
Italian:
non lineare
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
Romanian:
neliniar
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
Russian:
нелине́йный
(nelinéjnyj)
— of a set of points: not lying on a straight line
German:
nicht linear
— chemistry, of molecules
German:
nichtlinear
— chemistry, of molecules
Czech:
nelineární
— mathematics, of a function
German:
nicht linear
— mathematics, of a function
German:
nichtlinear
— mathematics, of a function
Indonesian:
nirlanjar
— mathematics, of a function
Indonesian:
tak lanjar
— mathematics, of a function
Kazakh:
бейсызықты
(beisyzyqty)
— mathematics, of a function
Kazakh:
бейсызықтық
(beisyzyqtyq)
— mathematics, of a function
Kazakh:
сызықты емес
(syzyqty emes)
— mathematics, of a function
Czech:
nelineární
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Finnish:
epälineaarinen
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
French:
non-linéaire
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
German:
nicht linear
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
German:
nichtlinear
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Italian:
non lineare
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Japanese:
非線形
(hisenkei)
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Korean:
비선형
(biseonhyeong)
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Romanian:
neliniar
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Spanish:
no lineal
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input
Swedish:
icke-linjär
— of a system: whose output is not directly proportional to its input