Nonsense

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Nonsense \Non"sense\, n. [Pref. non- + sense: cf. F. nonsens.]
     1. That which is not sense, or has no sense; words, or
        language, which have no meaning, or which convey no
        intelligible ideas; absurdity.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. Trifles; things of no importance.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Nonsense verses}, lines made by taking any words which
        occur, but especially certain words which it is desired to
        recollect, and arranging them without reference to
        anything but the measure, so that the rhythm of the lines
        may aid in recalling the remembrance of the words.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Folly; silliness; absurdity; trash; balderdash.
          [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  fiddledeedee \fid"dle*dee*dee`\, interj.
     An exclamatory word or phrase, equivalent to {nonsense}!
     [Colloq.]
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  nonsense
       adj : having no intelligible meaning; "nonsense syllables"; "a
             nonsensical jumble of words" [syn: {nonsense(a)}, {nonsensical}]
       n 1: a message that seems to convey no meaning [syn: {bunk}, {nonsensicality},
             {meaninglessness}, {hokum}]
       2: ornamental objects of no great value [syn: {falderal}, {folderol},
           {frills}, {gimcrackery}, {gimcracks}, {trumpery}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  125 Moby Thesaurus words for "nonsense":
     Greek, absurdity, absurdness, amphigory, antics, applesauce,
     babble, babblement, balderdash, baloney, bibble-babble, bilge,
     blabber, blah, blather, blatherskite, blether, bombast, bosh,
     buffoonery, bull, bullshit, bunk, bunkum, bushwa, cackle, capering,
     claptrap, cock, crap, double Dutch, double-talk, drip, drivel,
     drool, eyewash, fantasticalness, fiddle-faddle, fiddledeedee,
     flapdoodle, flimflam, flummery, folderol, foolishness, frivolity,
     fudge, fustian, gabble, galimatias, gammon, garbage, gas, gibber,
     gibberish, gibble-gabble, gobbledygook, gook, guff, hocus-pocus,
     hogwash, hokum, hooey, horsefeathers, horseplay, hot air, humbug,
     inanity, jabber, jabberwocky, jargon, jazz, jesting,
     jiggery-pokery, jokes, joking, ludicrousness, malarkey, mischief,
     monkey business, monkeyshines, monstrousness, moonshine,
     mumbo jumbo, mumbo-jumbo, narrishkeit, niaiserie, nonsensicality,
     outrageousness, pack of nonsense, palaver, piffle, poppycock,
     pranks, prate, prattle, preposterousness, puffery, punk, rant,
     ridiculousness, rigamarole, rigmarole, rodomontade, rot, rubbish,
     shenanigans, shit, silliness, skimble-skamble, stuff and nonsense,
     stultiloquence, tomfoolery, tommyrot, trash, tricks, tripe,
     trumpery, twaddle, twattle, twiddle-twaddle, vaporing, waffle,
     waffling, waggishness, wildness
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  NONSENSE, construction. That which in a written agreement or will is 
  unintelligible. 
       2. It is a rule of law that an instrument shall be so construed that 
  the whole, if possible, shall stand. When a matter is written grammatically 
  right, but it is unintelligible, and the whole makes nonsense, some words 
  cannot be rejected to make sense of the rest; 1 Salk. 324; but when matter 
  is nonsense by being contrary and repugnant to, some precedent sensible 
  latter, such repugnant matter is rejected. Ib.; 15 Vin. Ab. 560; 14 Vin. Ab. 
  142. The maxim of the civil law on this subject agrees with this rule: Quae 
  in testamento ita sunt scripta, ut intelligi non possent: perinde sunt, ac 
  si scripta non essent. Dig. 50,17,73,3. Vide articles Ambiguity; 
  Construction; Interpretation. 
       3. In pleading, when matter is nonsense by being contradictory and 
  repugnant to something precedent, the precedent matter, which is sense, 
  shall not be defeated by the repugnancy which follows, but that which is 
  contradictory shall be rejected; as in ejectment where the declaration is of 
  a demise on the second day of January, and that the defendant postea 
  scilicet, on the first of January, ejected him; here the scilicet may be 
  rejected as being expressly contrary to the postea and the precedent matter. 
  5 East, 255; 1 Salk. 324. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  NONSENSE, n.  The objections that are urged against this excellent
  dictionary.