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English dictionary

nonce Meaning & Definition

/nɒns/

What Does Nonce Mean?

As a noun, nonce means The one or single occasion; the present reason or purpose. It can also mean A nonce word. As an adjective, it means One-off; produced or created for a single occasion or use. As an adjective, it means One-off; produced or created for a single occasion or use. Denoting something occurring once.

Nonce at a Glance

Part of speechnoun, adjective
Pronunciation//nɒns//
Syllables1
Synonymstime being
Pluralnonces

Nonce Definition (Noun)

  1. The one or single occasion; the present reason or purpose.

    That will do for the nonce, but we'll need a better answer for the long term.

  2. A nonce word.

    I had thought that the term was a nonce, but it seems as if it's been picked up by other authors.

  3. A value constructed so as to be unique to a particular message in a stream, in order to prevent replay attacks.

Nonce as an Adjective

  1. One-off; produced or created for a single occasion or use.

Noun

  1. A sex offender, especially one who is guilty of sexual offences against children.
  2. A pedophile.
  3. A police informer, one who betrays a criminal enterprise
  4. A stupid or worthless person.

    Shut it, ya nonce!

Noun

  1. The one or single occasion; the present reason or purpose (now only in for the nonce).

    That will do for the nonce, but we'll need a better answer for the long term.

Adjective

  1. One-off; produced or created for a single occasion or use. Denoting something occurring once.

Noun

  1. (prisons) A sex offender, especially one who is guilty of sexual offences against children.

    1989 "assorted nonces, ponces and murderers, 'the worst men in the world' [...] on the nonce wing, where the child-killers, molesters and various perverts have to be protected from the other prisoners." (New Statesman, New Society, Volume 2, Statesman & Nation Publishing Company Limited)

  2. (prisons) A police informer, one who betrays a criminal enterprise

Synonyms of Nonce

time being
Nonce synonyms and antonyms →

Antonyms of Nonce

No antonyms or near antonyms are listed by the available sources for this entry.

Nonce in a Sentence

That will do for the nonce, but we'll need a better answer for the long term.

I had thought that the term was a nonce, but it seems as if it's been picked up by other authors.

Shut it, ya nonce!

1989 "assorted nonces, ponces and murderers, 'the worst men in the world' [...] on the nonce wing, where the child-killers, molesters and various perverts have to be protected from the other prisoners." (New Statesman, New Society, Volume 2, Statesman & Nation Publishing Company Limited)

Word Forms & Grammar

nonce (plural nonces)

nonce (not comparable)

Words That Rhyme With Nonce

sconceresponsehauncenonchalanceensconcejaunceponceconditioned responsepauncechaunceskonceimmune responseboncelauncefrequency responsestartle responseconditioned emotional responseconditional responseconditioned avoidance responsevauncelearned responsegauncegonceschwanzaix-en-provencecroncefauncehanshonsehumoral immune response

Origin of Nonce

Origin 1: Inherited from Middle English nonse, nones, a rebracketing of Middle English to þen anes, for þen anes (to/for the once (i.e., the one occasion or instance)), from the dative singular neuter of þe. The cryptography sense is commonly said to be a contraction of number used once, although this is probably incorrect.

Origin 2: First use appears c. 1975. Unknown, derived from British criminal slang. Several origins have been proposed; possibly derived from dialectal nonce, nonse (“stupid, worthless individual”) (but this cannot be shown to predate nonce "child-molester" and is likely a toned-down usage of the same insult), or Nance, nance (“effeminate man, homosexual”), from nancy or nancyboy. The rhyme with ponce has also been noted. As prison slang also said to be an acronym for "Not On Normal Communal Exercise" (Stevens 2012), but this is likely a backronym.

Pronouncing Nonce

Nonce is pronounced //nɒns// and has 1 syllable.

Nonce: Your Questions Answered

Is nonce a noun or an adjective?

Nonce is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as an adjective.

What is another word for nonce?

Words with a similar meaning to nonce include time being. See the full list of nonce synonyms and antonyms.

What is the plural of nonce?

The plural of nonce is nonces.

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