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Glite Dictionary
🤷 No clear choice ⚖️ No legal ruling 🥊 No winner
nondecision

nondecision

1 8.6
A situation where people avoid making a clear choice about something
  • noun
  • /ˌnɒndɪˈsɪʒən/
: no decisión
  • Due to her fear of commitment, the meeting ended in a nondecision about the new project.

Examples

  • A sort of nondecision made, he dragged his sorry butt back to his cubicle.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The committee's inability to reach an agreement resulted in a frustrating nondecision that left everyone confused.

  • After much debate, the board chose to produce a nondecision, avoiding any clear stance on the issue.

Synonyms

indecision
vsnondecision
20 3.4

Not able to make a choice quickly or with confidence

is a situation where no clear choice occurs, not only personal inability
hesitancy
vsnondecision
7 4.2

A short pause before you act because you are not sure

is a situation where no clear choice happens, not only a brief pause
indecisiveness
vsnondecision
3 5.1

Not being able to decide quickly or confidently

is the situation of no clear choice, which can come from many causes
noncommitment
vsnondecision
1 6.8

A lack of a clear decision, promise, or support for something

is a broader situation where no clear choice happens for many reasons
nonaction
vsnondecision
1 7.9

Not doing anything when you should do something, often making the problem worse

is about situations where no clear choice occurs, not only failure to respond

Antonyms

decision
∞ 1.0

A choice made after thinking about different options

How Decided

decision
∞ 1.0
indecision
20 3.4
nondecision
1 8.6

Surface Forms

nondecision singular
nondecisions plural

Morphology

nondecision = decision (transparent) = non + decision

Formed by productive negation non- + 'decision', the meaning 'not a decision' is directly inferable from the parts.

Etymology

Nondecision comes from the prefix non- ('not') and decision from decide ('to choose'), so it literally means 'not choosing'. A helpful way to remember a nondecision is to imagine a meeting where people leave without making a clear choice, so the issue stays unresolved.