nonceness

N1O1N1C3E1N1E1S1S1

noun

The quality of being a nonce word.

Scrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounnonceness (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe quality of being a nonce word.

    [see title]

    2000, David Crystal, “Nonceness : Lexical Innovation and Lexicographic Coverage”, in Robert Boenig, Kathleen Davis, editors, Manuscript, Narrative, Lexicon: Essays on Literary and Cultural Transmission in Honor of Whitney F. Bolton, pages 218-31
    1 more example

    A question that arises with nonce words is do they lose their nonceness now that they appear here. For that matter, will nonceness now appear in the OED because this could be its debut in print?

    2014 April 22, Paul Dickson, Authorisms: Words Wrought by Writers, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, →ISBN, page 80

Origin

From nonce + -ness.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nonceness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonceness

MLA

“nonceness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonceness. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nonceness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonceness.

Source: nonceness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.