Standard Lemma guide

nonmetal

noun · 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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1

noun

Meaning 1

An element, such as phosphorus or chlorine, that does not have the chemical or physical properties of a metal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

not containing or resembling or characteristic of a metal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • nonmetallic elements

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nonmetallic

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a chemical element lacking typical metallic properties

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: chemical element, element

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English non- Ancient Greek μέτᾰλλον (métăllon)der. Latin metallum Old French metalbor. Middle English metal English metal English nonmetal From non- + metal.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: no-metall — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Esperanto: nemetalo — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Finnish: epämetalli — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • French: non-métal — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • German: Nichtmetall — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Greek: αμέταλλο (amétallo) — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Hungarian: nemfém — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Italian: non-metallo — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Māori: konukore — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Persian: نافلز (nâfelez) — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Polish: niemetal — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Romanian: nemetal — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Russian: немета́лл (nemetáll) — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Spanish: no metal — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Swedish: icke-metall — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Tagalog: dimetal — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Turkish: ametal — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Vietnamese: phi kim — element that does not have the properties of a metal
  • Welsh: anfetel — element that does not have the properties of a metal