Words / C2

non-ENT-uh-tee/nɒnˈentəti/

A nonentity is a person or thing of no importance (disapproving): treat someone as a nonentity, a political nonentity. Nobody (already in the dictionary) is everyday; notable (already in the dictionary) is the opposite flavour. Entity is a being or organisation — the root. Do not call a night invigilator a nonentity in the minutes.

Meaning

A person or thing of no importance or distinction (disapproving).

Examples

• “Treating the night invigilator as a nonentity is how the rota fails.”
• “Nobody is everyday (already in the dictionary). A cipher is a nobody in older prose. Notable is worth noting (already in B2). Rank is not the same as the badge log. The person who holds the key is not a nonentity, however junior the grade.”

Good to know

A nobody (formal / unkind). Everyday: nobody. Opposite flavour: notable. Grade ≠ irrelevance on the night rota.

Near in meaning

nobody

New