I. |nät, usu -äd.+V adverb
or -nt or -n't (ə)n(t), ( ə )n(t) ; also -not (|)nät sometimes -_nət, usu -d.+V
Etymology: Middle English, alteration of nought, from nought, pron. — more at naught
1.
a. — used as a function word to turn an expression consisting of a word or group of words into an implicitly opposite expression
not pregnant
not in sight
the team did not win
if he will not go
the telephone is not ringing
will not pay the bill
there has not been time — Lois M. Miller
a faint smell of disinfectant, but it did not reek of the stuff — Phil Stong
we could not defend the Philippines — James Forrestal
recommend that we not offend against charity — G.H.Dunne
may insist that prefabricated products be not used in the buildings they work in — T.W.Arnold
can not read or write — Vicki Baum
yield not to temptation
b. : no
my cold is not worse than yesterday
was not less fortunate in marriage — T.B.Macaulay
there were not cleaner windows … in the whole street — Charles Dickens
should like to know how language evolved from what was not language — C.F.Hockett
c. : in no manner or degree : in no way : nowise
not at all satisfactory
not near so expensive
it is certainly not the viewpoint of the minister — C.F.Hunter
thou shalt not kill
d. — used as a function word to stand for the opposite of a preceding group of words
changes in the environment are sometimes beneficial to the animals and sometimes not — W.H.Dowdeswell
the little girl used to sit very quiet and be good and the little boy used not — James Stephens
if not , you'll be sorry
and often correlatively
will he be here or not
whether you need to make decisions or not — W.J.Reilly
e. — used especially with think to negate a following noun clause
I do n't think it will rain
do n't think I'll go
or without a verb to introduce a clause
not that it matters
not that it doesn't matter
not that my congratulations to her would not have been tempered with misgivings — Walter de la Mare
the poem is bad, not because it is didactic — S.E.Hyman
not to go is a mistake
f. — used without modifying the meaning of an expression containing another negative
could n't stand it no longer — Mark Twain
— compare double negative
2. — used as a generalized negative function word to express an unspecified degree of comparative difference varying from almost identical to almost opposite
today is not Wednesday
in better light you can see the cloth is not black
not a full cup, please
five dollars does n't count in that place
the question is not as simple as it seems — A.G.Hays
will be found that it is not so easy as it seems — J.A.Powell
in the auditorium there were many not idolators who found their admiration mixed with apprehension — John Mason Brown
the holdups he took part in were not carefully planned — Croswell Bowen
was not merely a man of words — Quarterly Journal of Speech
he's not all there
try not to hurt me so much
not paying careful attention to the warnings
charged with not assuming full responsibility
after your not heavy body shrunken in death — Amy Lowell
3. : not even : not so much as
not a red cent
not a dog would bark at him — Washington Irving
five wounded and not a man killed — S.C.Williams
4. : never
ten years old and not been to a circus
5. : otherwise
whalers were more often than not three or four years away from port — Sacheverell Sitwell
6. : slightly less than : somewhat less than : hardly
while not as interesting as similar works — E.C.Carter
— usually used with an intensive (as very, quite, always, wholly) and sometimes with half
the clergy and elders … by and large, are not very helpful — John Cogley
for the armed forces, life is not quite as trying as it is for the civilian — Emily Hahn
the canvasses by other writers have not been as revealing — Harold Fields
the irony of this not altogether heartening disclosure — Sat. Eve. Post
the conditions today are not half bad
7. — used as a function word before a negative word to express an intentionally unemphatic affirmation
not dishonest
not implausibly
not atypical
not inconsistent with law — U.S. Code
not unreasonable or unexpected — Atlantic
8. — used as the first element of the correlatives not only … but
will have brought about not only the defect of evil, but some permanent good — Julian Huxley
effective not only in terminating an unlawful conspiracy, but in limiting price increases — T.W.Arnold
of the correlatives not only … but also
not only the spelling of the words, but also the grammatical forms become conventionalized — William Chomsky
of the correlatives not … but
not a country town but a metropolis — Leslie Stephen
our most significant contribution to general culture, however, was made not in modern times but in Saxon times — Kemp Malone
of the correlatives not … nor
not for wealth nor for fame did he strive — J.A.Powell
did not speak nor stir — B.A.Williams
or of the correlatives not … or
such quotations do not discredit or impair the sincerity — William Hard
not folded bud, or wave that laps a shore — Phyllis McGinley
•
- not a little
II. ˈnät, usu -äd.+V noun
( -s )
: negation , negative
III. preposition
: other than : except
nobody not a professor has the remotest idea — W.L.Sullivan
IV. adjective
or nott “
Etymology: Middle English, close-cropped, from Old English knot
dialect England : polled
V. noun
or nott “
( -s )
dialect England : a hornless sheep, cow, or steer