Nonmetallic

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not metallic. not-comparable

    "Boron is a nonmetallic element, and compounds of it, such as borax, have been used in products for decades, ranging from detergents to roach poison."

  2. 2
    Of, relating to, or having the properties of a nonmetal. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    not containing or resembling or characteristic of a metal wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
ametallousmetalloidnonmetalunmetallicunmetallic

Example

More examples

"An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air)."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From non- + metallic.

Etymology 2

From nonmetal + -ic.

More for "nonmetallic"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.