Nonvalidity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state of being invalid encompasses both the lack of legal effect and the inability to meet certain criteria or standards
2. A situation characterized by an absence of validity includes both the failure to conform to accepted norms and the rejection of authority
3. The quality of not being valid involves both the disqualification from legal status and the inadequacy to fulfill requirements or expectations

Etymology: "Nonvalidity" is a plain compound, built from the prefix "non-" meaning "not" attached to "validity," the state of being valid. "Validity" itself comes from the Latin "validus," meaning "strong" or "healthy," which is also the root of "valid" in its older sense of being strong or effective. A thing's validity was therefore its strength to hold up, whether a legal argument or an official document. Adding "non-" simply reverses that quality, so "nonvalidity" names the condition of lacking that force. The word is a straightforward formation of English prefix and noun, with no dramatic shift in meaning along the way.

Synonyms: invalidity, illegitimacy, nullity

Antonyms: validity, legitimacy