Nonexistent

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not present, real, or in existence; completely absent or imaginary
2. Lacking any presence, reality, or existence
3. utterly absent or merely a figment of imagination

Etymology: "Nonexistent" is a plain combination of two English parts: the prefix "non-", meaning "not", attached to "existent", meaning "existing" or "having being." "Existent" itself comes from the Latin verb "existere," built from "ex-" ("out") and "sistere" ("to stand" or "to take a stand"), so the word literally pictures something standing out into being. Adding "non-" simply reverses that: the thing does not stand forth into reality. The prefix "non-" comes straight from Latin "non," "not," and English has used it freely to form negatives of existing words, which is why "nonexistent" can be built on the spot from any adjective. The result is a word that needs no special history of its own; its meaning is exactly the sum of its parts.

Synonyms: imaginary, fictitious, absent, unreal, lacking

Antonyms: existing, real, present, existent, available