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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CMU ARPABET:N AA0 N V AY1 AH0 L AH0 N S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A philosophy that rejects the use of violence, and instead seeks to bring about change through peaceful responses even to violent acts.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
peaceful resistance to a government by fasting or refusing to cooperate
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
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- Latin violēns /violentus Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin violentiabor. Old French violencebor. Middle English violence English violence English nonviolence From non- + violence.
Across languages
Translations
34 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
لاعنف
— philosophy that rejects violence
Catalan:
no-violència
— philosophy that rejects violence
Chinese Mandarin:
非暴力
(fēibàolì)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Czech:
nenásilí
— philosophy that rejects violence
Dutch:
geweldloosheid
— philosophy that rejects violence
Esperanto:
neperforto
— philosophy that rejects violence
Finnish:
väkivallattomuus
— philosophy that rejects violence
French:
non-violence
— philosophy that rejects violence
French:
non-résistance
— philosophy that rejects violence
French:
non resistance
— philosophy that rejects violence
Galician:
non violencia
— philosophy that rejects violence
German:
Gewaltlosigkeit
— philosophy that rejects violence
German:
Gewaltfreiheit
— philosophy that rejects violence
Gujarati:
અહિંસા
(ahinsā)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Hindi:
अहिंसा
(ahinsā)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Hungarian:
erőszakmentesség
— philosophy that rejects violence
Italian:
nonviolenza
— philosophy that rejects violence
Japanese:
非暴力
(hibōryoku)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Kazakh:
бейзорлық
(beizorlyq)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Korean:
비폭력
(bipongnyeok)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Latin:
inviolentia
— philosophy that rejects violence
Latin:
non violentia
— philosophy that rejects violence
Macedonian:
ненасилство
(nenasilstvo)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Malayalam:
അഹിംസ
(ahiṁsa)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Persian:
پرهیز از خشونت
— philosophy that rejects violence
Portuguese:
não-violência
— philosophy that rejects violence
Russian:
ненаси́лие
(nenasílije)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Russian:
отка́з от примене́ния наси́льственных мето́дов
(otkáz ot primenénija nasílʹstvennyx metódov)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Sanskrit:
अष्ट्रा
(aṣṭrā)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Serbo-Croatian:
nenasilje
— philosophy that rejects violence
Spanish:
abstención de la violencia
— philosophy that rejects violence
Swedish:
icke-våld
— philosophy that rejects violence
Ukrainian:
ненасильство
(nenasylʹstvo)
— philosophy that rejects violence
Vietnamese:
bất bạo động
— philosophy that rejects violence
