nullity
/ˈnʌləti/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnʌləti/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnə-lə-tē/ (ame, mw)
nullity — 名詞
- nullitysingular
- nullitiesplural
1. the condition of a marriage, contract, or other formal arrangement being treated
無效；廢止
法律上完全沒有效力的狀態
the condition of a marriage, contract, or other formal arrangement being treated by the law as if it never came into being and therefore produces no rights or duties.
The judge declared the contract a nullity because Felipe had signed it under duress.
法官宣告該合約為無效，因為 Felipe 是在被脅迫下簽署的。
declared + a nullity for a court ruling that an agreement has no force
Esme sought a decree of nullity, arguing that her partner had hidden a prior marriage.
Esme 申請婚姻無效判決，主張對方隱瞞了先前的婚姻關係。
decree of nullity for a court order ending a marriage that was never valid
The lawyers argued for the nullity of the agreement on the grounds that Arjun was a minor when he signed.
律師主張該協議無效，理由是 Arjun 簽名時還未成年。
Without a valid witness, the entire will was open to a finding of nullity in the probate court.
因為缺少合格證人，整份遺囑在遺產法庭上都可能被判為無效。
The church granted Lucía a nullity rather than a divorce after her hearing in Madrid.
在馬德里的聽證會後，教會給予 Lucía 婚姻無效，而非離婚。
- invalidity
broader; can apply to any legal defect, while nullity emphasises the complete absence of effect
- voidness
rare and technical; describes the same condition but in property-law contexts
- annulment
refers to the act of cancelling, not the resulting status; nullity is what remains after annulment
- validity
the condition of having full legal force
- enforceability
specifically about whether a court will compel performance
文法句型
a nullity
declared a nullity
用法筆記
Frequently appears in fixed legal phrases such as 'decree of nullity', 'declaration of nullity', and 'a finding of nullity'. The subject of 'declare' or 'find' is usually a court, judge, or tribunal.
常見錯誤
2. a person, work, or thing regarded as having no value, impact, or distinguishing
廢物；庸才
毫無價值、影響或特色的人事物
a person, work, or thing regarded as having no value, impact, or distinguishing qualities — essentially counting for nothing.
Critics dismissed the senator's debut speech as a complete nullity, full of slogans but empty of ideas.
評論家批評那位參議員的首場演說毫無價值，滿是口號卻沒有任何想法。
a complete nullity for something judged worthless
Once the new manager arrived, Talia felt reduced to a nullity in every team meeting.
新主管上任後，Talia 在每場團隊會議裡都覺得自己被當成無足輕重的人。
reduced to a nullity for being treated as if one no longer matters
Zola refused to let anyone treat her years of fieldwork as a nullity just because the report was late.
Zola 不願意因為報告遲交，就讓人把她多年的田野工作當成毫無價值的東西。
The reviewer described the novel as a charming nullity — pleasant to read but adding nothing to the genre.
那位評論家形容這本小說是討喜的平庸之作——讀來愉快，卻對這個類型毫無貢獻。
- nonentity
almost interchangeable when applied to people regarded as unimportant; slightly more common in everyday speech
- cipher
literary; suggests someone who is utterly without influence or character
- irrelevance
stresses lack of bearing on the matter at hand rather than overall worthlessness
文法句型
a nullity
the nullity of
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is literary or evaluative, applied to people, works, or efforts judged unimportant, while sense 1 is a strict legal status. Often follows verbs like 'dismiss as', 'reduce to', or 'treat as'.
常見錯誤
3. the condition of not existing at all, or of being reduced to nothing — used in a
虛無；空無
完全不存在或徹底消逝的狀態
the condition of not existing at all, or of being reduced to nothing — used in abstract, philosophical, or literary writing.
The poem ends with the speaker staring into the nullity of the winter sky over the empty fields.
詩的結尾，敘述者凝視著冬日天空，望向空曠田野上方的虛無。
staring into the nullity, a literary image of vast emptiness
Iker wrote about the nullity that follows the loss of a long-held belief.
Iker 寫下了長久信念崩解後的那種虛無感。
the nullity that follows [loss], for a sense of total emptiness
Some philosophers argue that consciousness fears the nullity of death more than the pain of dying.
一些哲學家主張，意識所畏懼的，是死亡的虛無，而非死亡時的痛苦。
After the factory closed, an air of nullity hung over the once-busy streets of the small town.
工廠關閉之後，曾經熱鬧的小鎮街頭瀰漫著一股空無的氣息。
- nothingness
more common; carries the same philosophical weight in everyday literary use
- void
more concrete; often used for a felt absence after loss
- nonexistence
more neutral and technical; lacks the literary emotional charge of nullity
文法句型
the nullity of
用法筆記
Almost exclusively literary or philosophical; rarely appears in news or conversational writing. Often paired with abstract or atmospheric nouns ('the nullity of death', 'an air of nullity').