nonevent means an anticipated event that does not occur, or one that has a disappointing anticlimax. It carries an Arena rating of 1539, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, nonevent ranks #572 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,519 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,344 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,499 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
Why “nonevent” is a great word
An anticipated occurrence that fails to materialize or proves so trivial as to be unworthy of the name. Formed in English from the prefix non- (from Latin nōn, "not") + event (from Latin ēventus, "occurrence, outcome"), its first recorded use falls between 1935 and 1940. Unlike an anticlimax, which is a disappointing conclusion to a buildup, or a nonstarter, which is an idea too impractical to launch, a nonevent is defined by its own absence or profound insignificance. It is the promised party that never begins, the celebrity sighting that is just a man in a coat, or the long-dreaded confrontation that resolves itself with a shrug—a minor victory for the mundane, which constitutes most of our days.
Etymology
From non- + event.
noun
- An anticipated event that does not occur, or one that has a disappointing anticlimax.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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