Make Your Point > Archived Issues > NONAGE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

pronounce NONAGE: Say it "NON idge." (Or, if you prefer, "NO nidge.") To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Our word nonage belongs to a youth group! That is, it belongs to a group of words all about youth: 1. The word juv___scent means "becoming more and more youthful." 2. The word ca____ means "like a baby bird, lacking in experience and maturity." 3. The word v___al means "youthful in a way that reminds you of the freshness of springtime." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "NONAGE" This word comes from Old French. You can see how it literally means "non age," or "a state of being not yet of age." In the US, you're officially "of age" when you turn eighteen; until then, you're in your nonage. "Nonage" is a formal, serious word meaning "a state of youth," "a state of being not yet a legal adult," or more figuratively, "a period of youthful immaturity."  In other words, when people are in their nonage, they're in their childhood or adolescence--or at least, from the way they act, it seems like they are. Part of speech: Noun, the uncountable kind: "it happened in his nonage," "the movement is in its nonage." Other forms: none How to use it:  This word is rare and formal, with a literary tone. So, use it when you need to be serious--or pretend-serious. Talk about someone's nonage, or about what someone did in his nonage. You can also refer to nonhuman things as being in their nonage: things like trends, companies, social movements, religious denominations, etc. examples: "Kant saw humanity living deeply irrational lives in a state of self-imposed nonage, capable of being rescued only by an enlightened but autocratic ruler."    — Sam Kriss, Slate, 31 August 2016 "I can hardly recall a meal which was not smothered in sauces red and brown, or an explosion of Pollockian pickles. Gherkins, chilli pastes, magenta relishes – the most whorish of condiments spilt their meretricious goo on to the pastas, roasts and bakes of my nonage."    — Russell Kane, The Guardian, 23 October 2010 has this page helped you understand "nonage"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "nonage" without saying "youthfulness" or "callowness." try it out: In explaining the title of Nonage, a book of photography and childhood memories, J. J. Crass wrote, "I'm sure you can agree that most memories are created within the nonage of your life." Hmm. How about it? Did you create most of your wonderful memories in your nonage--or did your happiest times occur in adulthood? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Rhyming Puzzles! I give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase. For example, if I say, "This is an ideal environment for a large tree-dwelling lizard--one in which this creature is perfectly happy and peaceful," then you say, "That's iguana nirvana." The answers will get longer and sillier as the month goes on. If you'd like to see the clue, click or mouse-over the link. I'll share each answer the following day. Enjoy! From the previous issue: At the customer service counter at a department store, you witness a family get into a shouting match with the staff. The issue at hand: the family had been making payments on a large purchase, waiting to take it home, but after they were late on a payment, the staff sold the item to someone else and refused to issue the family a refund. It's a knock-down, drag-out fight over what should have been a simple interest-free payment plan. It's a _______ _____. (Two words. The first word has three syllables. The second word has two syllables. Clue: use this word.) Answer: layaway melee. Try this one today: You're ordering frozen yogurt with your friends, and you can't decide what topping you want. Marshmallows? Or strawberries? Marshmallows, you decide. No, strawberries. For sure. Wait--no--marshmallows. "Just pick a THING!" your friend says. "Any THING, it doesn't matter!" You say, "I don't know what THING! Which thing?! I keep going back and forth between THESE two things!" You're both annoyed by your _____ _____ __-_____. (Three words. The first word has two syllables. The second word has one syllable. The third word is hyphenated and has three syllables. Clue: use this word.) review this word: 1. A lighthearted opposite of NONAGE is A. RARE BIRD. B. RAPSCALLION. C. OLD FOGEYDOM. 2. When Dante wrote about "the year's nonage," he probably meant _____. A. January B. June C. December 1. C 2. A a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.