nugatory

[noo-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, nyoo-] Example Sentences Origin

nu·ga·to·ry

[noo-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, nyoo-]
adjective
1.
of no real value; trifling; worthless.
2.
of no force or effect; ineffective; futile; vain.
3.
not valid.

Origin:
1595–1605; < Latin nūgātōrius worthless, useless, trifling, equivalent to nūgā(rī) to trifle + -tōrius -tory1


1. trivial, insignificant, frivolous. 2. useless, inoperative.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Nugatory

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Nugatory is a GRE word you need to know.
So is termagant. Does it mean:
scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman
servilely attentive
Example Sentences
  • It was absurd, because they ought to have seen that their conditions are entirely nugatory.
Collins
World English Dictionary
nugatory (ˈnjuːɡətərɪ, -trɪ)
 
adj
1.  of little value; trifling
2.  not valid: a nugatory law
 
[C17: from Latin nūgātōrius, from nūgārī to jest, from nūgae trifles]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nugatory
"trifling, of no value," c.1600, from L. nugatorius "worthless, futile," from nugator (gen. nugatoris) "jester, trifler," from nugatus, pp. of nugari "to trifle," from nugæ (gen. nugarum) "jokes, jests, trifles," of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature