nonexistence

noun non·ex·is·tence \ ˌnän-ig-ˈzi-stən(t)s \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of nonexistence

: absence of existence : the negation of being

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nonexistent

play \ˌnän-ig-ˈzi-stənt\ adjective

See nonexistence defined for kids

Recent Examples of nonexistence from the Web

One that has continuously attempted to push nonwhites into nonexistence through crusades that have been defended by the law.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Texas State University and the War on Whiteness," 13 Apr. 2018
For nonbinary youth like Davi, that means nothing less than a shift from nonexistence to existence in the eyes of the law.

— annie tritt, Vox, "States are starting to recognize a third gender. Here’s what that means for nonbinary youth.," 28 Mar. 2018
Witness Toyota’s sudden-acceleration travesty, in which courts seemed to put the onus on the manufacturer to prove a negative—the nonexistence of some undetectable, unreplicable fault in its comparatively simple throttle-control software.

— holman w. jenkins, WSJ, "Big Tech Takes Us to the Unknown," 27 Mar. 2018
The inspector general’s office says its policy is to not comment on the existence or the nonexistence of an investigation.

— cecilia kang and sydney ember, New York Times, "Sinclair Deal With Tribune Hits Complications in Washington," 27 Feb. 2018
My family does not celebrate this, and the other children camping with us all are aware of the nonexistence of the bunny.

— mallory ortberg, Slate Magazine, "Prudie advises a letter writer who refused to pretend the Easter Bunny is real—and got accused of being anti-Christian.," 17 Apr. 2017
Because the presumption of nonexistence does not allow for the possibility of live crawfish steamed in chile sauce, while Nothingness the restaurant does.

— jonathan gold, latimes.com, "Jonathan Gold enters Nothingness and finds somethingness — namely, Thunderbolt frog and BBQ potato," 29 Sep. 2017
The existence or nonexistence of an investigation is almost an exogenous factor of its own.

— holman w. jenkins, WSJ, "Trump Agonistes," 11 July 2017
After all, one implication of the center’s nonexistence is that parties have a lot more freedom to move the poles of America’s political debate than is popularly believed.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Democrats Can Abandon the Center — Because the Center Doesn’t Exist," 30 July 2017

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