1
as in cipher
a person of no importance or influence
that tiny country's ambassador from the U.S. is usually some nullity who happens to be a friend or supporter of the current president
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in negligibility
the quality or state of being unimportant
one of the basic themes of the theater of the absurd is the essential nullity of human existence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nullity
Even this extended deadline, however, has itself been rendered a nullity by the Fifth Circuit.
—
Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
Journal Editorial Report: How to make Congress a nullity.
—Giovanni Caforio, WSJ, 29 Aug. 2023
The thousands of votes already cast and those to be cast on Aug. 8, 2023, for mayoral candidates would be a nullity.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 7 Aug. 2023
There were pillows on the couch, a whole flotilla of them, and there were two armchairs flanking it, a coffee table, bookshelves, the black nullity of a flat-screen TV affixed to the wall across from her.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2022
The overall Pessoan effect—of fertility and nullity overlaid, of a teeming garden spied through the transparent body of a phantom—gathers into a single sensation extremes of modern exuberance and despair.
—Benjamin Kunkel, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021
Kyrsten Sinema has spent the last year participating in a Beltway social experiment that might determine whether an intellectual nullity, clad in Instagrammable vintage wear, might be passed off as a brave and serious centrist ideologue.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 9 Oct. 2021
The Vatican announces reforms to the legal structures Catholics must follow to achieve marital nullity.
—Cnn Editorial Research, CNN, 6 June 2021
However, the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and the electoral-system revamp have rendered it a nullity.
—Aaron Rhodes, National Review, 18 Mar. 2021
Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
Journal Editorial Report: How to make Congress a nullity.
—Giovanni Caforio, WSJ, 29 Aug. 2023
The thousands of votes already cast and those to be cast on Aug. 8, 2023, for mayoral candidates would be a nullity.
—Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 7 Aug. 2023
There were pillows on the couch, a whole flotilla of them, and there were two armchairs flanking it, a coffee table, bookshelves, the black nullity of a flat-screen TV affixed to the wall across from her.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2022
The overall Pessoan effect—of fertility and nullity overlaid, of a teeming garden spied through the transparent body of a phantom—gathers into a single sensation extremes of modern exuberance and despair.
—Benjamin Kunkel, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021
Kyrsten Sinema has spent the last year participating in a Beltway social experiment that might determine whether an intellectual nullity, clad in Instagrammable vintage wear, might be passed off as a brave and serious centrist ideologue.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 9 Oct. 2021
The Vatican announces reforms to the legal structures Catholics must follow to achieve marital nullity.
—Cnn Editorial Research, CNN, 6 June 2021
However, the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and the electoral-system revamp have rendered it a nullity.
—Aaron Rhodes, National Review, 18 Mar. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nullity
Noun
-
Lively’s Lily Bloom is a cipher for the millennial woman resisting the pull of becoming her boomer mother.—
Doreen St. Félix,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
-
For decades, Patricia McGlone was a cipher, a ghost.—
Sarah Weinman,
Rolling Stone,
1 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Those free passes were a frequent abuse of the law in the past, and low-profile corporate nobodies got away with them for years.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Feb. 2025
-
The owner, knowing that his establishment is at capacity and taking into consideration the troublesome nobodies who are seeking entry, brusquely sends them away.—
Andy Biggs,
Newsweek,
24 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Emperor tamarins are dwarf monkeys with whiskers that resemble a white moustache.—
Robert Higgs,
cleveland,
1 Feb. 2023
-
The dwarf variety grows to be about 5 to 7 feet, ideal for a small garden or accent in a room with limited space.—
Bryce Jones,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Jan. 2023
Noun
-
Also, Holloway is making his permanent move to lightweight, and this rematch could be a surprise hit for the UFC.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Most base layers will be in the 160-grams-per-square-meter (lightweight) to 260-gsm range (heavyweight or expedition weight).—
Scott Gilbertson,
WIRED,
22 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The windows leak, the gutters need cleaning, insects are making their way inside and, to make matters worse, Rolf has a hard time keeping a carer.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2025
-
In addition to butterflies, the mountain supports 195 species of birds, 13 reptile species, six amphibian species, small mammals, and rare insects such as the San Francisco Forktail Damselfly, according to San Bruno Mountain Watch.—
Ryan Macasero,
The Mercury News,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Pressed on one side by hard-liners and on the other by opponents of the Islamic Republic, the regime’s centrists and reformists had become political nonentities.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2025
-
At the time the house was a nonentity, the models dull, the clients wealthy women who did not dress in the latest styles.—
Hamish Bowles,
Vogue,
17 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Nullity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nullity. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share