Maybe vs Not - What's the difference?
maybe | not |
(as a pro-sentence ) perhaps that is true (expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement)
Possible; uncertain.
(informal) Something that is possibly true.
(informal) An answer that shows neither agreement nor disagreement.
(informal) A future event that may or may not happen.
Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
* 1973 , .
To no degree
And .
Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.
Unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function.
As nouns the difference between maybe and not
is that maybe is (informal) something that is possibly true while not is grain (collective name for a variety of crops including rice, wheat and corn) .As an adverb maybe
is .As an adjective maybe
is possible; uncertain.maybe
English
(wikipedia maybe)Alternative forms
* (l) (obsolete) * (l) (dialectal)Adverb
(-)Usage notes
* Do not confuse maybe' with ' may be : "Maybe that's true", but "That may be true"Synonyms
* (perhaps) mayhaps, peradventure, perhaps, possibly * (as a pro-sentence) could be, mayhaps, might be, perhaps, possibly, that’s possibleDerived terms
* and I don't mean maybeAdjective
(en adjective)- Then add those may-be years thou hast to live ? Dryden.
Noun
(en noun)- The results of the poll were inconclusive. We got two yeses, three nos, and four maybes.
- About your raise: it's a big maybe .
Synonyms
* perhapsDerived terms
* definite maybenot
English
(wikipedia not)Adverb
(-)- Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
- Did you take out the trash? No, I did not .
- Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
- That is not red; it's orange.
Usage notes
In modern usage, the form do not ...'' (or ''don’t ...'') is preferred to ''... not'' for all but a short list of verbs (is/am/are/was/were, have/has/had, can/could, shall/should, will/would, may/might, need): * They do not''' sow.'' (modern) vs. ''They sow '''not . (KJB) American usage tends to prefer don’t have'' or ''haven’t got'' to ''have not'' or ''haven’t'', except when ''have'' is used as an auxiliary (or in the idiom ''have-not ): * I don’t have a clue'' or ''I haven’t got a clue. (US) * I haven’t a clue'' or ''I haven't got a clue. (outside US) * I haven’t been to Spain. (universal) The verb need is only directly negated when used as an auxiliary, and even this usage is rare in the US. * You don’t need to trouble yourself. (US) * You needn’t trouble yourself. (outside US) * I don’t need any eggs today. (universal) The verb dare can sometimes be directly negated. * I daren't do that.Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
- He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
Usage notes
* The construction “A, not B” is synonymous with the constructions “A, and not B”; “not B, but A”; and “not B, but rather A”.Interjection
not!- I really like hanging out with my little brother watching ''Barney''... not !
- Sure, you're perfect the way you are... not !
Synonyms
* I don't thinkSee also
*Noun
(en noun)- You need a not there to conform with the negative logic of the memory chip.