# nonsense

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈnɒn.səns/ · frequency rank #5,067

## Definitions
1. Letters or words, in writing or speech, that have no meaning or pattern or seem to have no meaning.
2. An untrue statement.
3. That which is silly, illogical and lacks any meaning, reason or value; that which does not make sense.
4. Something foolish.
5. A type of poetry that contains strange or surreal ideas, as, for example, that written by Edward Lear.
6. A damaged DNA sequence whose products are not biologically active, that is, that does nothing.

## Etymology
From non- (“no, none, lack of”) + sense, from c. 1610. Compare the semantically similar West Frisian ûnsin (“nonsense”), Dutch onzin (“nonsense”), German Unsinn (“nonsense”), English unsense (“nonsense”).

## Common misspellings (12)
`nnonsense`, `nnosense`, `nonesnse`, `nonnsense`, `nonsenes`, `nonsennse`, `nonsensse`, `nonsesne`, `nonsnese`, `nonssense`, `nosnense`, `onnsense`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nonsense