What does nonfulfilment mean?
Nonfulfilment means the failure to fulfil a promise, obligation, contract, or requirement. It is especially common in British English and is frequently used in legal, administrative, and formal contexts, where it identifies a failure to meet a clearly stated duty or condition. The word is more precise than a general reference to failure: nonfulfilment focuses on something that was expected, promised, or required but was not achieved. In American English, the usual spelling is nonfulfillment. Although the term can apply to a missed commitment, it is not limited to moral promises; it may describe contractual nonperformance, noncompliance with a rule, or the failure to satisfy a formal requirement.
nounThe failure to fulfil a promise, obligation, requirement, or other commitment.
- The failure to fulfil a promise, duty, contract, requirement, or other commitment.
"The court found the company's nonfulfilment of its contractual obligations."
"Nonfulfilment of the agreed conditions led to the agreement being terminated."
"The report identifies the nonfulfilment of several statutory duties."
Plural forms are used when referring to multiple failures to fulfil separate promises, obligations, or requirements.
"The report lists several nonfulfilments of the organisation's regulatory duties."
Nonfulfilment is the quiet opposite of a promise: it names the moment when what was promised fails to happen.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nonfulfilment come from?
The word combines the prefix non-, meaning “not,” with the English verb fulfil, which means to satisfy or carry out an obligation or expectation. Fulfil derives from Old English fulfyllan, associated with the sense of filling or making complete. The related noun fulfilment developed in the 19th century, and the prefixed form nonfulfilment became established in modern British usage.
Related word forms
How nonfulfilment is actually used
Most common in British English and in formal or legal contexts. The American spelling is usually nonfulfillment. It often implies an identifiable failure to meet a stated commitment, rather than a general lack of success.
Easily confused with nonfulfilment
Both words mean failure to fulfil a commitment; nonfulfilment is the standard British spelling, while nonfulfillment is the usual American spelling.