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Glite Dictionary
nonchronological

nonchronological

1 7.5
Not in the order events happened
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˌkrɒnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl/
translation icon : no cronológico
  • Her essay used a nonchronological structure, discussing themes instead of following a timeline.

Examples

  • In a nonchronological narrative, the story unfolds without adhering to the sequence of events.

  • One of the bases for the nonchronological view of the Greeks, I believe, lies in the differences between oral and literate cultures, in which Thucydides plays a transitional role.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Through the tapestry, the chronicler attempts to create a spatial, nonchronological dimension to time.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The movie presents events in a nonchronological order, jumping back and forth in time.

Synonyms

nonsequential
vsnonchronological
2 7.1

Parts that do not follow a fixed or logical order

focuses only on time order rather than any general or logical ordering

Antonyms

chronological
23 3.7

Arranged in the order that events happened

How Chronological

chronological
23 3.7
sequential
17 4.9
nonchronological
1 7.5
random
527 3.4

Surface Forms

nonchronological positive

Morphology

nonchronological = chronological (transparent) = non + chronological

The prefix 'non-' directly negates the adjective 'chronological', so the meaning is a straightforward negation.

Etymology

Nonchronological comes from non- ('not') and chron- ('time'), the same root you see in chronicle. A helpful image is a diary with its pages mixed up, so events are not in time order and the story does not follow when things happened.