non-violent

adjective

Of a deed, event etc., without violence.

Similar
unviolentirenicpacificanti-bellicistdovelikedovishirenicalpacifist
Opposite
violent
OriginEnglish violent ← Middle English violent ← Old French violent →
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Meanings

adjectivenon-violent (not comparable)

alternative nonviolent

  1. not comparableOf a deed, event etc., without violence.

    Synonyms: unviolent · Antonyms: violent

  2. not comparableOf a person or movement, opposed to violence.

    The measure asked Gov. Ronald Reagan to declare April 4 Martin Luther King Jr. day as a memorial to "the nation's leading advocate of loving non-violent action."

    1969 March 14, “King Resolution Rehearing Promised”, in Daily Independent Journal, volume 108, number 304, page 35, columns 2–3

    Synonyms: irenic, pacific, anti-bellicist, dovelike, dovish, irenic, irenical, pacific · Antonyms: violent

  3. not comparableOf a convict, sentenced for a crime that did not involve violence.

    Antonyms: violent

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf a deed, event etc., without violence.

Similar
unviolent
Opposite
violent

adjectiveOf a person or movement, opposed to violence.

Similar
irenicpacificanti-bellicistdovelikedovishirenicirenicalpacificpacifistpacifisticpeaceablepeacefulunaggressive
Opposite
violent

adjectiveOf a convict, sentenced for a crime that did not involve violence.

Opposite
violent
Also see
dovishirenicpacificpacifistpacifisticpeaceablepeacefulunaggressive

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. Latinviolentu
  15. Old Frenchviolent
  16. Middle Englishviolent
  17. Englishviolent
  18. Englishnon-violent

From non- + violent.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch geweldloos, niet-gewelddadig
  • geweldlooswithout violence
  • niet-gewelddadigwithout violence
  • geweldloosopposed to violence
  • vredelievendopposed to violence
  • niet-gewelddadigincarcerated for a crime that did not involve violence
Estonian vägivallatu, vägivallatu
  • vägivallatuwithout violence
  • vägivallatuopposed to violence
  • rahumeelneopposed to violence
Finnish rauhanomainen
  • rauhanomainenwithout violence
French non violent
  • non violentwithout violence
German gewaltlos, gewaltfrei
  • gewaltloswithout violence
  • gewaltfreiwithout violence
  • gewaltlosopposed to violence
  • gewaltfreiopposed to violence
  • friedliebendopposed to violence
Russian ненаси́льственный, ненаси́льственный
  • ненаси́льственный (nenasílʹstvennyj)without violence
  • ненаси́льственный (nenasílʹstvennyj)opposed to violence
Ukrainian ненаси́льницький
  • ненаси́льницький (nenasýlʹnycʹkyj)without violence
Cite this entry
APA

non-violent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-violent

MLA

“non-violent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-violent. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “non-violent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-violent.

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