First Known Use: 1602
Dictionary
sine qua non
noun si·ne qua non \ˌsi-ni-ˌkwä-ˈnän, -ˈnōn also ˌsē-; also ˌsī-ni-ˌkwā-ˈnän\
: something that is absolutely needed
plural sine qua nons also sine qui·bus non \-ˌkwi-(ˌ)bu̇s- also -ˌkwī-\
Full Definition of SINE QUA NON
: something absolutely indispensable or essential <reliability is a sine qua non for success>
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Origin of SINE QUA NON
Late Latin, without which not
Related to SINE QUA NON
- Synonyms
- condition, demand, must, must-have, necessary, necessity, need, needful, requirement, requisite, essential
- Antonyms
- nonessential, nonnecessity
Rhymes with SINE QUA NON
abutilon, Agamemnon, anticodon, antiproton, archenteron, arrière-ban, asyndeton, automaton, Azerbaijan, Bellerophon, bildungsroman, carrying-on, diazinon, dodecagon, emoticon, encephalon, get a move on, himation, interferon, kakiemon, keep an eye on, Laocoön, mesenteron, Michoacán, millimicron, oxymoron, phenomenon, protozoon, pteranodon, put the arm on, put the make on, rear echelon, Rostov-on-Don, Saskatchewan, septentrion, set one's heart on, set one's sights on, steal a march on, take it out on, Taklimakan, turn one's back on, Vientiane, wipe one's boots on, zero coupon, zooplankton
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