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nonelective

nonelective

1 5.0
A medical operation or hospital treatment that is needed and not planned in advance
  • adjective
  • /ˌnʌnɪˈlɛktɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no electivo
  • After evaluating his symptoms, the hospital staff determined that he needed a nonelective procedure to avoid serious complications.

Examples

  • Provincial targets were also exceeded for nonelective (priority 2 and 3) cases.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The authors concluded that the poorer outcomes observed among the uninsured were primarily due to the uninsured patients being significantly more likely to have a nonelective hospital admission and present with myelopathy.

    Blog text (13)
  • The doctor explained that the nonelective surgery was crucial to treat the patient's worsening condition.

  • The hospital prioritized nonelective admissions to ensure that patients in urgent need received immediate care.

Antonyms

20 4.5

Not required and chosen by someone

How Optional

elective
20 4.5
nonelective
  • Specialized
1 5.0
mandatory
239 3.8

Surface Forms

nonelective positive

Morphology

nonelective = elective (transparent) = non + elective

Productive negation 'non-' + 'elective' yields the straightforward meaning 'not elective' (i.e., not optional/required for medical reasons).

Etymology

Nonelective comes from non- 'not' and elective 'optional' (like an elective class), so it can be remembered as 'not optional'. A nonelective operation is one you cannot wait for, not a planned choice, which is why doctors treat it right away.