What does "nonpareil" mean?
A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon.
Nonpareil
/nɒnpəˈɹeɪ(l)/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon.
- Grammar: nonpareil is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: ideal, paragon, a per se, ace.
- Useful contrasts: average, commonplace, comparable.
- Usage evidence: Since the tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her step-daughter, Mlle. Carére, the young lady who, as it will be remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New York.
How to use "nonpareil"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "nonpareil" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "nonpareil" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "nonpareil" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "nonpareil" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "nonpareil" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ideal" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "nonpareil", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon. countable
"My lord and master loves you. O, such love / Could be but recompens'd though you were crown'd / The nonpareil of beauty!"
- 2 a flat disk of chocolate covered with beads of colored sugar wordnet
- 3 The blue underwing or Clifden nonpareil (Catocala fraxini), a species of moth distributed across the Palearctic; also (obsolete) any of a number of moths of other species. countable, uncountable
- 4 colored beads of sugar used as a topping on e.g. candies and cookies wordnet
- 5 In full nonpareil parrot: an eastern rosella, of species Platycercus eximius, a rosella (parrot) native to southeastern Australia. Australia, archaic, countable, uncountable
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal wordnet
- 7 A painted bunting (Passerina ciris), a brightly-coloured finch native to North America. US, countable, uncountable
- 8 In full nonpareil apple: an apple tasting both sweet and tart which ripens very late in the season; also, the tree producing this fruit. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 9 Any of various types of small sweets. US, archaic, countable, uncountable
- 10 A small pellet of white or coloured sugar used as decoration on baked goods and candy. US, broadly, countable, dated, uncountable
- 11 A small, flat chocolate drop covered with such pellets of sugar, similar to a comfit. US, broadly, countable, uncountable
- 12 A caper (“pickled edible flower bud”) of the smallest size. US, broadly, countable, uncountable
- 13 A size of type between ruby and emerald (or, in the United States, between agate and minion), standardized as 6-point; (countable) a slug of this size. historical, uncountable
"I believe that letters which are less than a millimetre and a half (1/17 inch) high, will finally prove injurious to the eye. How little attention has hitherto been paid to this important subject is exemplified in the fact that even oculistic journals and books frequently contain nonpareil, or letters only a millimetre (1/25 inch) high."
Adjective
- 1 Unequalled, unrivalled; unique.
"He informed the clerk that he would remain three or four days, inquired concerning the sailing of European steamships, and sank into the blissful inanition of the nonpareil hotel with the contented air of a traveller in his favorite inn."
Adjective
- 1 eminent beyond or above comparison wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Since the tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her step-daughter, Mlle. Carére, the young lady who, as it will be remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New York."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "nonpareil"?
Common synonyms include: ideal, paragon, a per se, ace, apotheosis, beau ideal.
How do you use "nonpareil" in a sentence?
Since the tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier from the charge of murder which hung over her in connection with the death of her step-daughter, Mlle. Carére, the young lady who, as it will be remembered, was found six months later alive and married in New York.
How do you pronounce "nonpareil"?
Pronounced /nɒnpəˈɹeɪ(l)/.
Etymology
From Late Middle English non-parail (“unparalleled, nonpareil”) [and other forms], from Middle French nonpareille, nonpareil (“unparalleled”) (obsolete), from non- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + pareil (“alike, like, same”). Pareil is derived from Old French pareil, from Late Latin pāriculus (“equal; like; of a number: even”), from Latin pār (“equal; like; of a number: even; suitable”) + -culus (a variant of -ulus (suffix forming diminutives)). Doublet of umpire. Noun sense 4 (size of type standardized at 6-point) is usually taken to derive from the attractive type cut by the brothers Giovanni and Gregorio De Gregori (fl. 1482–1503 and 1496–1527 respectively) for their 1498 edition of the divine offices in Venice; it was for a long time the smallest-sized type in use.