no-nonsense

adjective

no-non·​sense ˈnō-ˌnän-ˌsen(t)s How to pronounce no-nonsense (audio)
-ˈnän(t)-sən(t)s
: tolerating no nonsense : serious, businesslike
a no-nonsense manager

Examples of no-nonsense in a Sentence

a no-nonsense gymnastics coach
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In Thursday’s episode of the Fox procedural, Manheim guest-starred as Jocelyn, the no-nonsense matriarch of a local family with a longstanding vendetta against her son’s future in-laws. Claire Franken, TVLine, 30 Sep. 2025 Kay, 93, the no-nonsense matriarch (who joins Matthew, 55, onscreen in the new AppleTV+ movie The Lost Bus) raised the stakes. Andrea Mandell, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025 Baker was in his late-fifties, a no-nonsense investigator with more than 35 years of experience, tall and thin with a bald head under a cowboy hat, prominent smile lines, and a steel-grip handshake. Mitch Moxley, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025 The rapper Killer Mike makes the most of his limited screen time as the no-nonsense publisher of a local tabloid that prints Lee’s more lowbrow, retaliatory material, including the mug shots and criminal histories of some goons who assaulted him. Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for no-nonsense

Word History

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of no-nonsense was in 1853

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Cite this Entry

“No-nonsense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/no-nonsense. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

no-nonsense

adjective
: putting up with or including no nonsense : serious
a no-nonsense manager
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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