~ 1
■ modal verb ( 3rd singular present and past ~ )
1》 used to indicate duty or correctness.
↘used to indicate a desirable or expected state.
↘used to give or ask advice.
2》 used to indicate something that is probable.
Origin
OE āhte , past tense of āgan 'owe' (see owe ).
Usage
Ought is an example of a modal verb , and does not behave like ordinary verbs. In particular, the negative is formed with the word not alone and not also with auxiliary verbs such as do or have . The standard construction for the negative is he ~ not to have gone : the forms he didn't ~ to have gone and he hadn't ~ to have gone are not acceptable in standard modern English.
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~ 2
(also aught )
■ noun archaic term for n~ .
Origin
C19: perh. from an ~ , by wrong division of a n~ .
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~ 3
■ pronoun variant spelling of aught 1 .