nonsensical

adjective

Definition of nonsensicalnext
1
as in absurd
conceived or made without regard for reason or reality a nonsensical decision that didn't take account of all of the facts

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in silly
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment your plan to lose weight through total starvation is completely nonsensical

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nonsensical Quarterback will forever remain arguably the most difficult position in all sports yet the one that draws the most unsolicited—and sometimes nonsensical—opinions. — Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 But the quality remains extremely uneven—mathematicians are finding some papers readable and others utterly nonsensical. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2026 Gen Z Wants to Go Ghost, Not Girlboss That said, the characters do have to be worth clipping, and love him or hate him, Ryan Murphy has always had a knack for creating fictional people who feel bigger than whatever nonsensical story spawned them. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026 Her statements and actions around the killing were nonsensical, defense attorney Robert Kerr said. — Evy Lewis, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026 In this context, their baseless First Amendment argument as a basis of this lawsuit is nonsensical hogwash! — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026 That was the perfect way to expose the nonsensical nature of the initiative. — Jon Root Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026 Mayday goes on too long and veers into nonsensical directions, with one episode depicting the pair breaking into a Soviet official’s home that descends into bedroom farce. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 Many bettors use nonsensical pseudonyms or random strings of letters and numbers for their aliases. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonsensical
  1. absurd
  2. silly
  3. bizarre
  4. stupid
  5. foolish
  6. insane
  7. unreal
  8. crazy
Adjective
  • This episode notably lacked any nod to Trump, though mentions of the president as a whole have been brief compared to the previous season, when the president was the show’s focal point for absurd antics.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • And Saturday’s win proved that his plan to pursue championships — something that seemed absurd amid a lost 2025 season — has a real possibility of paying off with one.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • The feds gave the state a silly 48-hour deadline to agree to change constitutional law, dump common sense and sequester these 20,000 ballots, if they were even returned, to double-check they were cast by valid voters.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Performed by legends Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, the silly song is a tongue-twister for kiddos, and the titular word, which means ‘extraordinarily good, wonderful’ even made its way into some real deal dictionaries.
    — Stephanie Ganz Published, Parents, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • But at the center of this story is a man named Michael Organ who turns out to be a bizarre, seemingly dangerous conman.
    — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Aside from spreading fear and anxiety through the agricultural labor force — which might be the point, if the hope is many will self-deport — the surge is having some other bizarre and probably unintended consequences.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of bizarre
Adjective
  • Doing so would be a stupid move for an Oval Office wannabe, one already hobbled by the progressive persona of the Golden State.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Republican Massachusetts Senate nominee John Deaton is not stupid.
    — Jon Keller, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • But Ohtani also struck out three times Thursday — made to look foolish in a much-too-familiar way.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But pretending that their selection of Fudd was based entirely on her basketball skills is foolish.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of foolish
Adjective
  • First and foremost, as a homeowner myself the property taxes are insane and continue to go up.
    — Stephen Korka, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026
  • That may be the name of her next album, but Venus’ insane popularity also speaks to the way Metropia is moving forward, constantly looking for the next shiny thing.
    — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of insane
Adjective
  • As on television, Seyfried nails Holmes’s wide eyes, unsteady mannerisms, deep voice, and mysterious vocal cadence that makes the character both unreal and oddly human.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
  • If there were any more life to the filmmaking, this tension could least be interesting, but the results are both perky and inert, unreal but entirely unmoored in time and space.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of unreal
Adjective
  • Life was crazy and the entertainment business was weird and journalism was infuriating.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026
  • No single institution, no matter how crazy its employees, could do it alone.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of crazy

Browse Nearby Words

nonsense
nonsensical
nonsensicalness
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Cite this Entry

“Nonsensical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonsensical. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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