nonlinear

adjective

non·​lin·​e·​ar ˌnän-ˈli-nē-ər 

: not linear

nonlinear thinking

a nonlinear narrative

… I was already interested in the nonlinear manner in which ideas and fashions travel through our culture …

—Lyall Watson

nonlinearity

ˌnän-ˌli-nē-ˈer-ə-tē 

-ˈa-rə-

noun

plural nonlinearities

nonlinearly adverb

Examples of nonlinear in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Nigerian sibling directors Arie and Chuko Esiri have adopted a nonlinear structure that collapses the past into the present—a correlative to the stream-of-consciousness that makes adapting Virginia Woolf such a daunting task for any filmmaker. — A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026

That means examining who hiring systems screen out, where development dollars go, how internal capabilities are identified, how nonlinear careers are evaluated and whether former employees have a realistic path back. — Sheila Callaham, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026

For Chandler, the bigger challenge was block-shooting a nonlinear series without having all the scripts available at first. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026

Instead, the work establishes a controllable magnonic platform for studying synchronization and nonlinear magnetic dynamics. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nonlinear

• mynheer
• seignior
• signior
• bilinear
• collinear
• nonnuclear
• overseer
• curvilinear
• interlinear
• rectilinear
• dier
• freer