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Nothing vs Unknown - What's the difference?

nothing | unknown |

As nouns the difference between nothing and unknown

is that nothing is something trifling, or of no consequence or importance while unknown is a variable (usually x, y or z) whose value is to be found.

As a pronoun nothing

is not any thing; no thing.

As an adverb nothing

is not at all; in no way.

As an adjective unknown is

not known; unidentified; not well known.

nothing

English

Alternative forms

* (nonstandard) nuffin, nuffink, nuttin'

Pronoun

(wikipedia nothing) (English Pronouns)
  • Not any thing; no thing.
  • *
  • * , chapter=19
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
  • , volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
  • An absence of anything, including empty space, brightness, darkness, matter, or a vacuum.
  • (slang, in double negatives) Anything
  • I didn't see nothing. [= I didn't see anything].

    Synonyms

    * (not any thing) ** (standard) not a thing ** (slang) jack, nada, zip ** (vulgar slang) bugger all, jack shit, sod all (British), fuck all ** (Northern English dialect) nowt :: See * (something trifling) nothing of any consequence, nothing consequential, nothing important, nothing significant, something inconsequential, something insignificant, something of no consequence, something trifling, something unimportant

    Antonyms

    * anything * everything * something

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something trifling, or of no consequence or importance.
  • What happened to your face?'' — ''It's nothing.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • Sermons are not like curious inquiries after new nothings , but pursuances of old truths.
  • A trivial remark (especially in the term (sweet nothings)).
  • A nobody (insignificant person).
  • You're nothing to me now!

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (archaic) Not at all; in no way.
  • *
  • Derived terms

    * benothing * better than nothing * for nothing * if nothing else * it's nothing * have nothing on (someone) * leave nothing in the tank * less than nothing * next to nothing * nothing at all * nothing but * nothing doing * nothingness * nothing succeeds like success * there's nothing to it * think nothing of it

    See also

    * nobody, no one * nowhere

    References

    *

    unknown

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Not known; unidentified; not well known.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=The Celebrity, by arts unknown , induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.}}

    Synonyms

    * anonymous * unfamiliar * uncharted * undiscovered * unexplored * unidentified * unnamed * unrecognized * unrevealed * unascertained * obscure * unsung

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (algebra) A variable (usually x'', ''y'' or ''z ) whose value is to be found.
  • Any fact or place about which nothing is known (as in the phrase "into the unknown").
  • A person of no identity; a nonentity
  • * 1965 , (Bob Dylan), (Like a Rolling Stone)
  • How does it feel
    To be on your own
    With no direction home
    Like a complete unknown
    Like a rolling stone?