nonpareil

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non·pa·reil

(nŏn′pə-rĕl′)

adj.

1. Having no equal; peerless: the Yankees' nonpareil center fielder.

2. Designating the smallest, most flavorful variety of pickled caper.

1. A person or thing that has no equal; a paragon.

a. A small pellet of variously colored sugar used to decorate or give texture to sweets.

b. A small, flat chocolate drop covered with these pellets.

[Middle English nounparalle, from Old French nonpareil : non-, non- + pareil, equal (from Vulgar Latin *pariculus, diminutive of Latin pār, equal; see perə- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nonpareil

(ˈnɒnpərəl; ˌnɒnpəˈreɪl)

1. a person or thing that is unsurpassed or unmatched; peerless example

2. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) (formerly) a size of printers' type equal to 6 point

3. (Cookery) US a small bead of coloured sugar used to decorate cakes, biscuits, etc

4. (Cookery) chiefly US a flat round piece of chocolate covered with this sugar

adj

having no match or equal; peerless

[C15: from French, from non- + pareil same]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

non•pa•reil

(ˌnɒn pəˈrɛl)

adj.

1. having no equal; peerless.

2. a person or thing having no equal.

3. a pellet of colored sugar for decorating candy, cakes, or cookies.

4. a bite-sized disk of chocolate covered with these pellets.

5. painted bunting.

6. Print.

a. a 6-point type.

b. a slug occupying 6 points between lines.

[1400–50; < Middle French nonpareil=non- non- + pareil equal < Latin pari- (s. of pār) equal]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	nonpareil - model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal nonesuch, nonsuch, apotheosis, ideal, paragon, saint crackerjack, jimdandy, jimhickey - someone excellent of their kind; "he's a jimdandy of a soldier" role model, model - someone worthy of imitation; "every child needs a role model" class act - someone who shows impressive and stylish excellence humdinger - someone of remarkable excellence; "a humdinger of a secretary"
	2.	nonpareil - colored beads of sugar used as a topping on e.g. candies and cookies confection, sweet - a food rich in sugar
	3.	nonpareil - a flat disk of chocolate covered with beads of colored sugar chocolate candy - candy made with chocolate
Adj.	1.	nonpareil - eminent beyond or above comparison; "matchless beauty"; "the team's nonpareil center fielder"; "she's one girl in a million"; "the one and only Muhammad Ali"; "a peerless scholar"; "infamy unmatched in the Western world"; "wrote with unmatchable clarity"; "unrivaled mastery of her art" one and only, peerless, unmatchable, matchless, unrivaled, unrivalled, unmatched, one incomparable, uncomparable - such that comparison is impossible; unsuitable for comparison or lacking features that can be compared; "an incomparable week of rest and pleasure"; "the computer proceeds with its incomparable logic and efficiency"; "this report is incomparable with the earlier ones because of different breakdowns of the data"

nonpareil

noun

1. ideal, best, finest, perfection, paragon, ne plus ultra In league, if not international football, he remains the nonpareil.

adjective

1. unequalled, supreme, unique, unparalleled, unrivalled, incomparable, unmatched, peerless, unsurpassed, matchless Sinatra is the nonpareil popular vocalist.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

nonpareil

adjective

Without equal or rival:

alone, incomparable, matchless, only, peerless, singular, unequaled, unexampled, unique, unmatched, unparalleled, unrivaled.

noun

A person or thing so excellent as to have no equal or match:

nonesuch, paragon, phoenix.

Translations

nonpareil

[ˈnɒnpərəl]

A. ADJ → sin par

B. N (= person) → persona f sin par; (= thing) → cosa f sin par (Typ) → nomparell m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

References in classic literature ?

"She's Colour-Sergeant of the Nonpareil battalion," said Mr.

View in context

Yes, that's right, lad--make much of me--I'm a nonpareil: there's nothing like me in the common herd.

View in context

An 'Only' is a nonpareil, the feller that does one kind of a turn better'n any other feller.

View in context

Since the tragic upshot of our visit to Devonshire he had been engaged in two affairs of the utmost importance, in the first of which he had exposed the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club, while in the second he had defended the unfortunate Mme.

View in context

Tony, a native of Hyde in Cheshire just a few miles from Salford, had a great affinity to Leigh, whose youthful stamping grounds were the same square miles and he marshalled cogent arguments why Leigh should be seen as the nonpareil of a certain kind of British humour.

So much to say about silent movies history; Modest programmer, 46, was expert on comedy films

Khan spent time in Las Vegas earlier this year with the now-retired Floyd Mayweather and his trainer/uncle Roger - which he described as "an amazing experience" - while Roach is also regarded as a top trainer having worked with the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and current pound-for-pound nonpareil Manny Pacquiao.

Boxing: Big names in frame to train Khan

Pamela Michelle McDonald, 37, was behind the wheel of a 1993 Geo Storm headed east on Nonpareil Road about 7:30 p.m.

BRIEFLY

Smith, nonpareil poet of New York City's first-wave punk heyday, is the South Jersey-bred daughter of a Jehovah's Witness mother and a religious skeptic father.

Patti Smith: Robert Miller Gallery

That the Saracens forwards are nonpareil is undoubted.

Rugby Union: Warriors play the pain game

Its performance after September 11 was nonpareil. Its coverage of the war in Iraq was very strong.

The Jayson Blair affair: can the New York Times learn important lessons from its plagiarism/fabrication scandal?

Schade, a Mozartian tenor nonpareil, returned to the Met in one of his greatest roles, Don Ottavio, in a revival of Franco Zeffirelli's revamped 1990 production of Don Giovanni.

Nonpareil. (United States: New York; Opera in Review)

Items include Super Sour Corn and Gummy Mummies for Halloween, Holly Berries and Deluxe Mix for Christmas, Pucker-Ups and Nonpareil Cherry Hearts for Valentine's Day, and Sour Easter Assortment and Nonpareil Jelly Eggs for Easter.