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

nondecision

8.6
A situation where people avoid making a clear choice about something
  • noun
  • /ˌnɒndɪˈsɪʒən/
translation icon : 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
19 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
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
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
19 3.4
nondecision
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.