Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An anticipated or highly publicized event that does not occur or proves anticlimactic or boring.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An anticipated event that does not occur, or one that is a disappointing anticlimax

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an anticipated event that turns out to be far less significant than was expected

Etymologies

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Examples

  • "Therefore we don't see much opportunity for disappointment, and tomorrow's FOMC meeting could be one of those 'nonevent' type of announcements that we haven't seen in some time, with little currency-market reaction to the FOMC statement itself."

    Dollar Declines as Risky Trade Rebounds 2009

  • Like many who have commented on "imitations" before him, Mallon, who writes in an easy, readable style, seems to regard the older examples he adduces of plagiarism as the quaint subjects for literary anecdote, while he bears down very hard indeed on Charles Reade (1814-84), English author of The Cloister and the Hearth, who evidently borrowed much of his material from the continent, and seems to take particular delight in the "scandal" -- best characterized as the nonevent of the year -- surrounding Jacob Epstein's Wild Oats, published in 1979.

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XX No 2 1991

  • Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist of RBC Capital Markets in Toronto, says the FOMC meeting could even be a "nonevent" for currency markets in comparison.

    Dollar to Get No Fed Aid 2008

  • The United States on Monday dismissed as a "nonevent" Zimbabwe's election for a new upper house of parliament that produced a huge majority for the party of President Robert Mugabe.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 2005

  • Some officials in France calling it a, quote, "nonevent," saying there was no evidence to them that there was any plan to use those planes, those flights as a weapon of terrorism if you will.

    CNN Transcript Dec 29, 2003 2003

  • National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr told the FCC Thursday that the Feb. 17 transition of over 400 stations to digital was essentially a "nonevent," where "viewer confusion and calls were relatively low" and "awareness of the DTV transition was virtually saturated across the country."

    unknown title 2009

  • Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson calls the seizure of funds a "nonevent" that won't slow online gambling or the company's lobbying efforts.

    Las Vegas Sun Stories: All Sun Headlines 2009

  • National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr told the FCC Thursday that the Feb. 17 transition of over 400 stations to digital was essentially a "nonevent," where "viewer confusion and calls were relatively low" and "awareness of the DTV transition was virtually saturated across the country."

    B&C - Breaking News 2009

  • National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr told the FCC Thursday that the Feb. 17 transition of over 400 stations to digital was essentially a "nonevent," where "viewer confusion and calls were relatively low" and "awareness of the DTV transition was virtually saturated across the country."

    unknown title 2009

  • Calling the two-hour return of The Event a nonevent is too easy, so let's just say it went over like a sumo wrestler trying to pole-vault.

    Ratings: The Event Isn’t an Event 2011

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