of course not
idiom
—used informally to say no in a way that shows one is very definite
"Are you angry with me for being late?" "Of course not!"
"Did you take the money?" "Of course not!"
Examples of of course not in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Cathy demurs — No, of course not — but Joey's response concerns me.
—
Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 1 Aug. 2023
Tom was of course not a nincompoop, but a serious, thoughtful person who hungered to add substance to sketch comedy.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
But that's of course not the case, and certain stories are an especially powerful reminder of the many stones that remain unturned; that there are many ways to take a trip, either to a familiar place or somewhere markedly overlooked, and tell a completely new story about it.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Dec. 2023
The celebration of course not only added to my excitement of landing in such a beautiful destination, but also showed a great sign of what's to come for JetBlue.
—Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 16 Nov. 2023
Iran’s ‘plausible deniability’ Iran has a long history of supporting Hamas, although the exact details of their relationship are of course not publicly known.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2023
Angela Burt-Murray would take the reins and become the new EIC, but of course not without a few hiccups along the way.
—Shelby Stewart, Essence, 16 Sep. 2023
No, of course not, but staying out of war does not mean being unaffected by it.
—John Gustavsson, National Review, 10 Sep. 2023
Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 1 Aug. 2023
Tom was of course not a nincompoop, but a serious, thoughtful person who hungered to add substance to sketch comedy.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2023
But that's of course not the case, and certain stories are an especially powerful reminder of the many stones that remain unturned; that there are many ways to take a trip, either to a familiar place or somewhere markedly overlooked, and tell a completely new story about it.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Dec. 2023
The celebration of course not only added to my excitement of landing in such a beautiful destination, but also showed a great sign of what's to come for JetBlue.
—Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 16 Nov. 2023
Iran’s ‘plausible deniability’ Iran has a long history of supporting Hamas, although the exact details of their relationship are of course not publicly known.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2023
Angela Burt-Murray would take the reins and become the new EIC, but of course not without a few hiccups along the way.
—Shelby Stewart, Essence, 16 Sep. 2023
No, of course not, but staying out of war does not mean being unaffected by it.
—John Gustavsson, National Review, 10 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'of course not.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near of course not
Cite this Entry
“Of course not.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/of%20course%20not. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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