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Nought vs Nothing - What's the difference?

nought | nothing | Related terms |

Nothing is a synonym of nought.



As nouns the difference between nought and nothing

is that nought is nothing; something which does not exist while nothing is something trifling, or of no consequence or importance.

As adverbs the difference between nought and nothing

is that nought is to no extent; in no way; not at all while nothing is not at all; in no way.

As pronouns the difference between nought and nothing

is that nought is nothing; zero while nothing is not any thing; no thing.

As an adjective nought

is good for nothing; worthless.

As a verb nought

is to abase, to set at nought.

nought

English

Alternative forms

* naught, nocht (Scottish ), nowt

Noun

(en noun)
  • Nothing; something which does not exist.
  • A thing or person of no worth or value; nil.
  • Not any quantity of number; zero; the score of no points in a game.
    • 0.4 (a number) = nought point four / zero point four
  • The figure or character representing, or having the shape of, zero.

    • Derived terms

    * noughties * noughty * dreadnought

    Adjective

    (head)
  • (obsolete) Good for nothing; worthless.
  • * 1611 , 20:14:
    • It is nought', it is ' nought , saith the buyer, but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
  • Wicked, immoral.
  • * (rfdate) Fuller:
    • No man can be stark nought at once.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To abase, to set at nought.
  • * 1393 , , translated by Grace Warrack, 1901
    • In this naked word sin, our Lord brought to my mind, generally, all that is not good, and the shameful despite and the utter noughting' that He bare for us in this life, and His dying; and all the pains and passions of all His creatures, ghostly and bodily; (for we be all partly '''noughted''', and we shall be '''noughted''' following our Master, Jesus, till we be full purged, that is to say, till we be fully ' noughted of our deadly flesh and of all our inward affections which are not very good;)
  • * 1983 , : The Last Self-Help Book , page 25
    • The nought which is you has devoured the style and been sustained for a while as a non-you until the style is emptied out by the noughting self.
  • * 2001 , William Desmond, Ethics and the Between , page 507
    • Your usefulness is zero, your worth zero, and as zero you deserve to be treated as nothing, and in the extreme, noughted .
  • * 2003 , Wu Wei Wei, The Tenth Man: The Great Joke (which Made Lazarus Laugh) (ISBN 1591810078), page 81:
    • What is the use of noughting' yourself? Who is ' noughting who? What is the use of searching for yourself? Who is searching for who? There are not two of you ! You cannot find yourself, or the absence of yourself.

    Adverb

    (head)
  • To no extent; in no way; not at all.
  • Not.

    • Pronoun

    (head)
  • Nothing; zero.

    • See also

    * naught * ought

    References

    * * Notes:

    Anagrams

    * English third person pronouns

    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.
  • *

    • Related terms

    * anything * everything * something * thing

    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

    *

    Statistics

    * English compound determinatives English indefinite pronouns English refractory feminine rhymes English third person pronouns 1000 English basic words