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Good vs But - What's the difference?

good | but |

As a proper noun good

is .

As a noun but is

any piece of equipment used for writing with one's hand, except chalks.

good

English

(wikipedia good)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) good, from (etyl) . Related to gather.

Alternative forms

* (poetic contraction)

Adjective

  • (lb) Of people.
  • #Acting in the interest of good; ethical.
  • #:
  • #*1891 , (Oscar Wilde), (The Picture of Dorian Gray) , Ch.6
  • #*:When we are happy, we are always good', but when we are ' good , we are not always happy.
  • #Competent or talented.
  • #:
  • #*(Robert South) (1634–1716)
  • #*:Those are generally good' at flattering who are ' good for nothing else.
  • #*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Michael Arlen), title= “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, chapter=3/19/2
  • , passage=Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house?; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something?; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.}}
  • #Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit.
  • #:
  • (lb)
  • #Useful for a particular purpose; functional.
  • #:
  • #*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
  • , title= Wild Plants to the Rescue , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
  • #Effective.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good , serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
  • #(lb) Real; actual; serious.
  • #:
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:Love no man in good earnest.
  • (lb) Of properties and qualities.
  • #(lb)
  • ##Edible; not stale or rotten.
  • ##:
  • ##Having a particularly pleasant taste.
  • ##:
  • ##* c. 1430' (reprinted '''1888 ), Thomas Austin, ed., ''Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London: 374760, page 11:
  • #
    Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke
  • ##* 1962' (quoting '''1381 text), (Hans Kurath) & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., ''(Middle English Dictionary) , Ann Arbor, Mich.: (University of Michigan Press), , page 1242:
  • #
    dorr?̅', '''d?r?''' adj. & n. toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and ' god Almande mylk.
  • ##Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.
  • ##:
  • #Healthful.
  • #:
  • #Pleasant; enjoyable.
  • #:
  • #Favourable.
  • #:
  • #Beneficial; worthwhile.
  • #:
  • #*, chapter=22
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.
  • #Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.
  • #*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • #*:My reasons are both good and weighty.
  • (lb) With "and", extremely.
  • :
  • (lb) Holy.
  • :
  • (lb) Of quantities.
  • #Reasonable in amount.
  • #:
  • #Large in amount or size.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,.
  • #Entire.
  • #:
  • #*
  • #*:Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.
  • Synonyms
    * (having positive attributes) not bad, all right, satisfactory, decent * (healthful) well * (competent or talented) accomplished
    Antonyms
    * (having positive attributes) bad, poor * (ethical) bad, evil
    Derived terms
    * come from a good place * do well by doing good * fight the good fight * for good * good afternoon * good and * * good books * goodbye * good day * good drunk * gooden * good-for-nothing * good graces * good grief * goodish * good job * good morning * goodly * goodness * good night * good to go * good works * the good die young * too much of a good thing

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • That is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.
  • Good! I can leave now.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) , all from the adjective.

    Adverb

  • (nonstandard) Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.
  • * 1906 , Zane Grey, The Spirit of the Border: A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio Valley
  • If Silvertip refuses to give you the horse, grab him before he can draw a weapon, and beat him good . You're big enough to do it.
  • * 2007 April 19, , WHYY, Pennsylvania [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9683874]
  • The one thing that we can't do...''is throw out the baby with the bathwater.''...'' We know our process works pretty darn good and, uh, it’s really sparked this amazing phenomenon of this''... high-quality website.
    Derived terms
    * but good

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) good, god, from (etyl) .

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The forces or behaviors that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.
  • * , chapter=13
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good .}}
  • (countable) A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.
  • (uncountable) The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.
  • * Bible, Psalms iv. 6
  • There be many that say, Who will show us any good ?
  • * Jay
  • The good' of the whole community can be promoted only by advancing the ' good of each of the members composing it.
  • (countable, usually in plural) An item of merchandise.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.
    Antonyms
    * (forces of good) bad, evil * (positive result) bad
    Derived terms
    * (item of merchandise) capital goods, consumer goods

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) goden, godien, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.
  • To make good; turn to good; improve.
  • To make improvements or repairs.
  • To benefit; gain.
  • To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.
  • To satisfy; indulge; gratify.
  • To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.
  • Derived terms
    * (l)

    Etymology 5

    From English dialectal, from (etyl) , ultimately from the adjective. See above.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To furnish with dung; manure; fatten with manure; fertilise.
  • (Bishop Hall)
    Derived terms
    * (l)

    but

    English

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • (obsolete, outside, Scotland) Outside of.
  • Away but the hoose and tell me whae's there.
  • Without, apart from, except.
  • Everyone but Father left early.
    ''I like everything but that.

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Merely, only.
  • * 1791 , (Robert Burns), "(Ae Fond Kiss)":
  • For to see her was to love her,
    Love but her, and love for ever.
  • * 1900 , , (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) :
  • Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere.
  • * 1977 , (Alistair Horne), A Savage War of Peace , New York Review Books, 2006, p.49:
  • The stony outcrops are often covered but thinly with arable soil; winters are bitingly cold, and rainfall scanty and unpredictable.
  • (Australian, conjunctive) Though, however.
  • I'll have to go home early but .

    Conjunction

    (wikipedia but) (English Conjunctions)
  • Except (for), excluding. Preceded by a negation.
  • :
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 23, author=Becky Ashton, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= QPR 1-0 Chelsea , passage=Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.}}
  • On the contrary, but rather (introducing a word or clause that contrasts with or contradicts the preceding clause or sentence without the not ).
  • :
  • However, although, nevertheless (implies that the following clause is contrary to prior belief or contrasts with or contradicts the preceding clause or sentence).
  • :
  • :
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author= Ian Sample
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains , passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=55, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= Travels and travails , passage=Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But , as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.}}
  • Except that (introducing a subordinate clause which qualifies a negative statement); also, with omission of the subject of the subordinate clause, acting as a negative relative, "except one that", "except such that".
  • *, II.15:
  • *:There is no reason but hath another contrary unto it, saith the wisest party of Philosophers.
  • *Shakespeare
  • *:And but my noble Moor is true of mindit were enough to put him to ill thinking.
  • *1820 , (John Keats), ‘Lamia’, Lamia & Other Poems :
  • *:A deadly silence step by step increased, / Until it seem'd a horrid presence there, / And not a man but felt the terror in his hair.
  • :
  • Without it also being the case that; unless that (introducing a necessary concomitant).
  • :
  • (obsolete) Except with; unless with; without.
  • *Fuller
  • *:So insolent that he could not go but either spurning equals or trampling on his inferiors.
  • *Motto of the Mackintoshes
  • *:Touch not the cat but a glove.
  • (obsolete) Only; solely; merely.
  • *Milton
  • *:Observe but how their own principles combat one another.
  • *Bible, 2 Kings vii. 4
  • *:If they kill us, we shall but die.
  • *Dryden
  • *:a formidable man but to his friends
  • Usage notes

    * Beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction such as but' is considered incorrect by classical grammarians arguing that a coordinating conjunction at the start of a sentence has nothing to connect, but use of the word in this way is very common. It is, however, best to avoid beginning a sentence with '''but''' in formal writing. Combining sentences or using '''however''', '''nevertheless''', '''still''', or ' though is appropriate for the formal style. ** But this tool has its uses. ** This tool has its uses, however. ** Nevertheless, this tool has its uses. ** Still, this tool has its uses. ** This tool still has its uses. ** This tool has its uses, though. * The use of the word but preceded by a comma is also considered incorrect by classical grammarians. ** I was very tired, but I decided to continue. ** It was a lovely day, but rain looked likely.

    Synonyms

    * (except) bar, unless, excepting, excluding, with the exception of, without * (however) yet, although, ac

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An instance or example of using the word "but".
  • It has to be done – no ifs or buts .
  • (Scotland) The outer room of a small two-room cottage.
  • A limit; a boundary.
  • The end; especially the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end; the butt.
  • Derived terms

    * all but * but and ben * but good *

    Statistics

    *