1
as in null
having no legal or binding force
the congressional resolution has symbolic value only, as it relates to a matter governed by the states and is thus nugatory
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in minor
lacking importance
the book is entertaining, but its contributions to Shakespearean scholarship are nugatory
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nugatory
Women directors abound in the S&S list: Two Akermans, two Agnès Vardas (none by her husband Jacques Demy, a superior artist), a nugatory Jane Campion soap opera, Vera Chitilová’s obscure Czech feminist screed, etc.
—
Armond White, National Review, 7 Dec. 2022
But the benefits to Russia longer term could be nugatory.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Week, 4 Mar. 2022
It could be used to rationalize stealing the pennies from a dead man’s eyes, true, even considering the nugatory value of the contemporary penny.
—Marilynne Robinson, The New York Review of Books, 27 May 2020
Yet all of these questions seem, increasingly, merely nostalgic, nugatory, in the face of the dissolution of the common solidarity of principles that had once made the liberation happen.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 June 2019
Armond White, National Review, 7 Dec. 2022
But the benefits to Russia longer term could be nugatory.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Week, 4 Mar. 2022
It could be used to rationalize stealing the pennies from a dead man’s eyes, true, even considering the nugatory value of the contemporary penny.
—Marilynne Robinson, The New York Review of Books, 27 May 2020
Yet all of these questions seem, increasingly, merely nostalgic, nugatory, in the face of the dissolution of the common solidarity of principles that had once made the liberation happen.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 6 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nugatory
Adjective
-
Russell’s crash in 2023 showed that a minor mistake can wipe you off the podium.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In susceptible people, the immune system reacts too strongly to minor exposures, creating chronic inflammation.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The filmmakers are demanding Nepal restart the entire process with a transparent, 30-day application window and independent oversight – essentially asking the Academy to declare the current selection invalid.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Sep. 2025
-
However, the registrar of voters office said in March that the group fell 1,027 short of the number required because of signatures determined to be invalid or in need of information such as a date or an address.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
By a rough count, Flagg played in approximately six different lineups, including some small-ball looks with Dwight Powell at center.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Oct. 2025
-
While there is acknowledgement that smaller teams, such as Norway’s Valarenga, could be on the receiving end of heavy defeats with the shift in format, the benefits of seeing top seeds clash early in the competition mean more overall interest.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Between the atoms was void, and all things that existed were atoms.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
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Into this relative void steps Paul Thomas Anderson, whose films have been nominated for 28 Academy Awards over the course of his career.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Shane Hubbard, a UW-Madison research scientist specializing in damage and loss estimation from disasters, said that misunderstandings of what type of insurance offers the most protection result in homeowners being left with hefty bills and little government assistance.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The clues have been there from the start, the little touches that aligned Grasso’s bifurcated personality with Tom and Robbie’s.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The San Francisco 49ers are running themselves right out of games with all these worthless carries by Christian McCaffrey.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
But these glasses are worthless without a mobile phone.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This marked a slight increase on figures from August, during which time Moscow claimed to have downed 2,786 Ukrainian drones at an average rate of nearly 90 per day.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
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International undergraduate enrollment stayed the same, with a slight increase in international freshmen, Miner said.—
David Ferrara,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
For Washington, this was no trivial matter.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
2 Oct. 2025
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Afterward, a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) investigation concluded that the economic impact was small, but not trivial.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nugatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nugatory. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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