nonsenses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of nonsense. Rare, since nonsense is usually uncountable.

   The report was full of bureaucratic nonsenses that wasted everyone's time.

   Old nursery rhymes delight children with their playful nonsenses.

   Note

   A rare plural, because the noun behind it usually refuses to be counted: English says "a lot of nonsense" or "such nonsense", not "nonsenses". The plural appears when separate absurdities are picked out one by one, such as individual rules, rhymes or claims, each a nonsense of its own. The same spelling also serves the verb meaning "to dismiss", so the sentence decides which is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of nonsense.

   Note

   Here the word is a verb that does two quite different jobs. With an object it means dismissing or belittling something, or making nonsense of it, as when a critic nonsenses a proposal. Without an object it means joking around and wasting time. The object is the clue: if something is being nonsensed, it is being made light of; if nothing is, someone is simply fooling about.

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