nonbeing

/ ˌnɒnˈbiːɪŋ /

noun

1. the philosophical problem arising from the fact that the ability to refer appears to presuppose the existence of whatever is referred to, and yet we can talk intelligibly about nonexistent objects See also subsistence

Example Sentences

Amleth, as he is called, is no student philosopher, temporizing over the nuances of being and nonbeing.

From New York Times

And not only the real — after all, even the basest trivialities are real — but the omnipresent, the immanent and the imminent, the stuff of being and nonbeing.

From Los Angeles Times

And so that step backward into nonbeing is not one they’ve had to take.”

From New York Times

As Isidore knocked on the apartment door, the television died immediately into nonbeing.

From Literature

But in the insomniac’s self-satisfaction there is also, perhaps, a genuine fear of the nonbeing, the nullity, of sleep.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• nobody