nonphysical

adjective

non·​phys·​i·​cal ˌnän-ˈfi-zi-kəl How to pronounce nonphysical (audio)
: not physical
A baseball manager recognizes a nonphysical talent, hustle, as an essential gift of great players and great teams.Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.
… a cycle of creation and destruction that determines all reality, physical and nonphysical.David Redles

Examples of nonphysical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The pervasive objectification of women in society leads us to exclude our nonphysical attributes, such as kindness, intelligence, and sense of humor, from the equation of our self-worth, explains Bryony Bamford, PsyD, founder of the London Centre for Eating Disorder and Body Image. Chloe Laws, Allure, 30 Nov. 2023 This shows there are nonphysical properties and knowledge that can only be discovered through experiences. Kat Friedrich, Popular Mechanics, 25 July 2023 Services costs, which include nonphysical purchases like tutoring and tax preparation, had begun to climb quickly. Christine Zhang, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023 Richards began a coercive control law reform campaign to modernize legislation, and her team surveyed survivors and produced overwhelming evidence of the criminalization gap highlighting how the system routinely failed victims of nonphysical abuse as opposed to physical injury. Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 June 2022 To be clear, the attorneys THR spoke with agree that nonphysical abuse and coercive control are very real problems. Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2022 Maria Cristalli, Hillside’s CEO, told THE CITY and ProPublica that staff rely on nonphysical interventions whenever possible, using restraints only as a last resort. ProPublica, 9 June 2022 Those with an appreciable interest in nonphysical playfulness scored high, and playful adults who were physically active scored the highest. Kevin Johnson, Outside Online, 4 May 2022 Where Reasons End is set in a nontemporal, nonphysical place. Eve Bowen, The New York Review of Books, 5 Mar. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nonphysical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1843, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nonphysical was in 1843

Dictionary Entries Near nonphysical

Cite this Entry

“Nonphysical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonphysical. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

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