NONESSENTIAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does nonessential mean? 

• NONESSENTIAL (noun)
  The noun NONESSENTIAL has 1 sense:

1. anything that is not essential

  Familiarity information: NONESSENTIAL used as a noun is very rare.

• NONESSENTIAL (adjective)
  The adjective NONESSENTIAL has 1 sense:

1. not of prime or central importance

  Familiarity information: NONESSENTIAL used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NONESSENTIAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Anything that is not essential

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

inessential; nonessential

Context example:

they discarded all their inessentials

Hypernyms ("nonessential" is a kind of...):

thing (a separate and self-contained entity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nonessential"):

adjunct (something added to another thing but not an essential part of it)

Derivation:

nonessential (not of prime or central importance)

• NONESSENTIAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Not of prime or central importance

Synonyms:

accidental; incidental; nonessential

Context example:

the character's motives remain accidental to the plot

Similar:

inessential; unessential (not basic or fundamental)

Derivation:

nonessential (anything that is not essential)

 Context examples 

Although arginine is a nonessential amino acid for normal human cells, certain cancer cells are autotrophic for arginine and need arginine in order to survive.

(Pegylated arginine deiminase, NCI Thesaurus)

A nonessential amino acid.

(Glutamine, NCI Thesaurus)