nonsense

/ˈnɒnsns/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnɑːnsens/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌnän-ˌsen(t)s ˈnän(t)-sən(t)s/ (ame, mw)

nonsense — noun

1. Written or spoken ideas, or behaviour, that are foolish, have no basis in truth,

1.名詞A2
釋義

Written or spoken ideas, or behaviour, that are foolish, have no basis in truth, or show no reasonable judgement — for example, repeating a claim that has been proved false, or acting in a way that ignores basic rules.

例句

Defne knew the story about the ghost was nonsense because she saw the truth herself.

be + nonsense (predicate position)

The science teacher explained that most online miracle cures are pure nonsense.

collocation: pure nonsense / absolute nonsense

同義詞
  • rubbish

    Especially British English; covers similar ground but also applies to things of poor quality, not just foolish ideas

  • garbage

    Especially American English; similar range to rubbish, often more dismissive

  • baloney

    Informal; specifically describes exaggerated or dishonest claims rather than general foolishness

反義詞
  • sense

    Reasonable or practical judgement — the opposite of foolishness

  • wisdom

    Knowledge and good judgement gained through experience

文法句型

nonsense (uncountable)

用法筆記

Frequently used with adjectives such as absolute, complete, pure, and total for added emphasis. Also common in the informal British fixed phrases a load of nonsense and a lot of nonsense.

常見錯誤

❌The rumour is a nonsense.
✅The rumour is nonsense.
💡Nonsense is uncountable in this sense; do not use a before it.
❌That's a nonsense plan.
✅That's a silly plan.
💡Nonsense is not an adjective in this sense; use a different word before a countable noun, or rephrase to 'That plan is nonsense.'

2. Speech or writing that has no recognisable meaning because the words, though the

2.名詞B2
釋義

Speech or writing that has no recognisable meaning because the words, though they may look or sound like a real language, do not form any logical or understandable message.

例句

When baby Lakan started babbling, his grandmother smiled and called it lovely nonsense.

babble / babbling → lovely nonsense

The computer screen showed a stream of nonsense characters after the virus hit.

同義詞
  • gibberish

    More specific to spoken language that sounds like real speech but carries no meaning; feels more vivid than nonsense

  • babble

    Describes continuous, confused sounds, especially from a baby or someone who is very confused

反義詞
  • meaning

    The clear message or significance that language is intended to convey

文法句型

nonsense (uncountable)

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1 (SILLY IDEAS): in this sense the words are not false but simply convey no information — they cannot be understood at all. The phrase make a nonsense of (see idioms) is related to this sense but is used more broadly to mean 'spoil completely'.

常見錯誤

❌He spoke nonsense words.
✅He spoke nonsense.
💡When referring to meaningless language, nonsense alone is sufficient. Nonsense words (see adjective sense) refers to deliberately invented terms in a poem or experiment.

nonsense — adjective