nonstarter
noun
non·start·er
ˌnän-ˈstär-tər 
1
: one that does not start
2
: someone or something that is not productive or effective
his son has been, in politics a nonstarter—
Anthony Lejeune
Anthony LejeuneExamples of nonstarter in a Sentence
She's the leading scorer among the team's nonstarters.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ukraine’s political leadership has said that any negotiations premised on its surrender of that territory were a nonstarter.
—Mikhail Klimentov, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
As long as Israel is consumed with Gaza and Arab public opinion is mobilized to support Palestinians, the Israeli-Saudi deal is a nonstarter.
—F. Gregory Gause Iii, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2023
But that was a nonstarter for Skydance and RedBird.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024
Plus, the Emmys are all about making Hollywood feel good about itself, and trimming down the number of people being honored — or creating some sort of muddle where lots of shows and people win trophies, but not in any kind of clear and direct competition — is a nonstarter.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for nonstarter 
Mikhail Klimentov, Washington Post, 16 July 2024
As long as Israel is consumed with Gaza and Arab public opinion is mobilized to support Palestinians, the Israeli-Saudi deal is a nonstarter.
—F. Gregory Gause Iii, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2023
But that was a nonstarter for Skydance and RedBird.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024
Plus, the Emmys are all about making Hollywood feel good about itself, and trimming down the number of people being honored — or creating some sort of muddle where lots of shows and people win trophies, but not in any kind of clear and direct competition — is a nonstarter.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for nonstarter
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonstarter.' 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 nonstarter
Cite this Entry
“Nonstarter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonstarter. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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