non-living

adjective

Not living; inanimate.

Similar
inanimatenonlivingnonconscious
OriginEnglish living ← Middle English non- ← Old English nān- →
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Meanings

adjectivenon-living (not comparable)

alternative nonliving

  1. not comparableNot living; inanimate.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivenot endowed with life

Similar
inanimatenonlivingnonconscious
Also see
inanimatenonconscious

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Germanic*ne
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ís?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
  5. Proto-Germanic*ainaz
  6. Proto-Germanic*nainaz
  7. Proto-West Germanic*nain
  8. Old Englishnān
  9. Middle Englishnon
  10. Old Englishnān
  11. Old Englishnān-
  12. Middle Englishnon-
  13. Englishnon-
  14. Englishliving
  15. Englishnon-living

From non- + living.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

non-living. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-living

MLA

“non-living.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-living. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “non-living,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-living.

Source: non-living on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.