Nonsensicality

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The characteristic of being absurd or lacking logical meaning is often marked by a presence of irrationality and incoherence in thought or expression
2. A state of being defined by its absurdity, illogical nature, and absence of meaningful content reflects a form of irrational thinking that defies reason
3. The property of something being without rational meaning or coherence

Etymology: Nonsensicality is a plain formation: the adjective "nonsensical" with the suffix "-ity" added to make an abstract noun meaning the quality of being nonsensical. The adjective is itself built from "nonsense" plus "-ical," an English adjective-forming ending that came into the language through Old French from Latin "-icus." The root of the whole chain is "sense," which passed into English through Old French "sens" from Latin "sensus," meaning feeling, perception or understanding. "Nonsense" is English, formed by putting the negative prefix "non-" in front of "sense," and it was in use by the 1500s. Adding "-ity," which came into English from Old French and Latin "-itas," turns the adjective into the noun for the state of lacking sense, so the word describes a quality rather than a particular absurd remark.

Synonyms: absurdity, foolishness, illogic

Antonyms: logic, rationality, sense