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naysayer

noun
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nay·​say·​er | \ ˈnā-ˌsā-ər How to pronounce naysayer (audio) , -ˌser \

Definition of naysayer

: one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something There are always naysayers who say it can't be done.
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Other Words from naysayer

nay-saying \ ˈnā-​ˌsā-​iŋ How to pronounce nay-saying (audio) \ noun

Examples of naysayer in a Sentence

There are always naysayers who say it can't be done. those naysayers who attack the integrity of the entire judicial system
Recent Examples on the Web The latter unicorns may yet prove the naysayers wrong. — Jessica Powell, Time, "The Problem Is Bigger Than WeWork. Why Wall Street Realized Unicorns Aren't so Magical," 21 Nov. 2019 Apart from a few naysayers, no one believed the endeavor could possibly fail. — David James, Anchorage Daily News, "‘Monty Python’ alum takes on tale of doomed Franklin expedition in new book," 14 Sep. 2019 What about the naysayers who warn that your show might not succeed? — Kathryn Shattuck, New York Times, "Why Tamron Hall’s Role Model Is Rocky," 30 Aug. 2019 The administration has continued to defend its policies, arguing that Mr. Trump’s trade war will ultimately deliver benefits for the global economy by reforming China’s trading practices, and that naysayers are exaggerating the negative trends. — Ben Casselman, New York Times, "Survey Shows Broad Opposition to Trump Trade Policies," 19 Sep. 2019 Because naysayers have been dogging the women’s team since the first game of the Women’s World Cup. — Bill Goodykoontz, azcentral, "Alex Morgan's tea time: No one celebrates like the U.S. women's World Cup team," 3 July 2019 It was taken by critics and naysayers as an indictment of autonomous vehicles. — Washington Post, "This crash sounded like an indictment of autonomous vehicles, but the NTSB report tells a different story," 12 July 2019 The issue is, the harmful effects most naysayers are worried about aren’t factually correct. — Birmingham Magazine, al, "Birmingham magazine’s Best and Worst of Birmingham," 3 Sep. 2019 The players are tired of hearing from naysayers that their state titles in 4A carry less weight than those won in higher classifications. — Richard Obert, azcentral, "Saguaro football may be most recruited program in Arizona history," 1 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'naysayer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of naysayer

1721, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for naysayer

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The first known use of naysayer was in 1721

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Statistics for naysayer

Last Updated

26 Nov 2019

Cite this Entry

“Naysayer.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/naysayer. Accessed 9 December 2019.

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More Definitions for naysayer

naysayer

noun
How to pronounce naysayer (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of naysayer

formal : a person who says something will not work or is not possible : a person who denies, refuses, or opposes something

See the full definition for naysayer in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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More from Merriam-Webster on naysayer

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for naysayer

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with naysayer

Nglish: Translation of naysayer for Spanish Speakers

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