non-biological
adjective
non-bi·o·log·i·cal
ˌnän-ˌbī-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 
variants
or nonbiological
: not biological: such as
a
: not relating to, marked by, or derived from life and living processes
non-biological reactions
non-biological materials
nonbiological methane
b
: not connected by genetic relationship
a non-biological parent
non-biologically
adverb
or nonbiologically
non-biologically produced materials
Examples of non-biological in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Geron was identified as the child’s non-biological grandmother.
—
Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024
Woodall played Jack in The White Lotus season two, a British boy who flirted with Haley Lu Richardson’s Portia and assisted his non-biological uncle Quentin (Tom Hollander) in a plan to murder Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2024
Identifying a signal as a sign of life is tricky, though, because both gases can also be accounted for by non-biological processes.
—Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2024
There are non-biological explanations for the observations as well.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2010
The bond between the non-biological parent and child can grow as strong as any, but are not protected socially or legally when under threat.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 30 Oct. 2023
Similarly, amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—can be created either by life or by non-biological chemistry.
—Carmen Drahl, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2023
However, Li says using cryo-EM for non-biological materials remains more of a novel application.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2019
Black people in original studies to develop the test may have had nonbiological exposures that affected creatinine levels, such as medications or dietary differences.
—Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2023
Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024
Woodall played Jack in The White Lotus season two, a British boy who flirted with Haley Lu Richardson’s Portia and assisted his non-biological uncle Quentin (Tom Hollander) in a plan to murder Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2024
Identifying a signal as a sign of life is tricky, though, because both gases can also be accounted for by non-biological processes.
—Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Jan. 2024
There are non-biological explanations for the observations as well.
—Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2010
The bond between the non-biological parent and child can grow as strong as any, but are not protected socially or legally when under threat.
—Callum McLennan, Variety, 30 Oct. 2023
Similarly, amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—can be created either by life or by non-biological chemistry.
—Carmen Drahl, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 May 2023
However, Li says using cryo-EM for non-biological materials remains more of a novel application.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2019
Black people in original studies to develop the test may have had nonbiological exposures that affected creatinine levels, such as medications or dietary differences.
—Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'non-biological.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near non-biological
Cite this Entry
“Non-biological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non-biological. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share