nonbiological

adjective

non·bi·o·log·i·cal | \ ˌnän-ˌbī-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl

Definition of nonbiological

: not biological: such as

a : not relating to, marked by, or derived from life and living processes nonbiological research nonbiological components nonbiological methane

b : not connected by genetic relationship a nonbiological parent

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Examples of nonbiological in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Clever chemists will now be trying to come up with alternative, nonbiological sources that produce phosphine in sufficient amounts. — David Grinspoon, Scientific American, "Is there Really Life on Venus? There's Only One Way to Know for Sure," 26 Sep. 2020 But researchers have also realized that we can be fooled by entirely nonbiological environments that churn out these compounds in unbalanced mixes—far from the expectations of chemical equilibrium based on the simplest thermodynamic rules. — Caleb A. Scharf, Scientific American, "Life's Small-Molecule Problem," 5 Oct. 2020 Some nonbiological process unknown on Earth might have churned the molecule into existence. — Sarah Scoles, Wired, "‘Dr. Phosphine’ and the Possibility of Life on Venus," 14 Sep. 2020 That community needs to drill deeper into potential nonbiological explanations for phosphine. — Sarah Scoles, Wired, "‘Dr. Phosphine’ and the Possibility of Life on Venus," 14 Sep. 2020 Simulation can also unmask signatures that seem to represent life but could be created by nonbiological processes. — Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, "CSI: Aliens--Astronomers Prep to Detect Cryptic Exoplanet Biosignals," 12 May 2015 Today, family law in the U.S. and elsewhere continues to recognize nonbiological lines of reasoning. — The Conversation, oregonlive.com, "Who’s is your daddy? It’s not all about DNA," 16 June 2019 But the gas can also have a nonbiological origin, such as geothermal activity (for which Yellowstone National Park is famous), so the researchers are not certain that bacteria continue to reside below the salty lake. — Shannon Hall, Scientific American, "The Not So Dead Sea: Traces of Ancient Bacteria Found in the Lake’s Sediments," 5 June 2019 But methane can also be produced by nonbiological sources, such as volcanoes. — Amina Khan, latimes.com, "The search for life on other planets could get a boost from biosignatures," 25 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nonbiological.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.