noes

noun

variants or nos
Definition of noesnext
plural of no
1
as in nays
a vote or decision against something though I wanted spaghetti for dinner, the consensus was a decisive no

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in refusals
an unwillingness to grant something asked for gave him a polite no when he asked her to dance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of noes Near daybreak, when the Senate did call for the vote to adjourn, Lee and others objected with hearty nos. — Lisa Mascaro, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026 While that effort went down with a wider margin, 84 nos and 17 yeses, a dozen Republicans supported it, revealing the extent of unease over the issue within the Senate GOP conference. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 4 June 2026 On the framework amendment, there were 12 Republican noes. — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026 The list of noes from top free agents since then is not insignificant. — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 23 Jan. 2026 The winningest teams lose and Hollywood, there's so many nos. — Outside Online, 10 Sep. 2025 Some guys have been immediate nos. — James Parker, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2025 Here, Southern designers weigh in with insights on outdated bedding colors that are hard nos in their book. — Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for noes
  1. nays
  2. refusals
  3. rejections
  4. denials
Noun
  • And on July 2, after the arrival of British forces in New York lent the proceedings new urgency, Congress did, in fact, declare independence—with a vote of 12 yeas, 0 nays, and 1 abstention.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 July 2026
  • With Cornyn not on the floor, the vote for more than 25 minutes was stuck at 56 ayes and 40 nays, with three other GOP senators, Rick Scott of Florida, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson and Mike Lee of Utah, not voting, for unclear reasons.
    — Emily Wilkins,Dan Mangan, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of nays
Noun
  • Shirley lingered in parking lots and asked to enter childcare centers, taking refusals as evidence that the centers weren’t actually caring for children.
    — Mia Sato, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The character is written to be very likable and worthy of respect, and Jodie Whittaker brings a really effective extra oomph of warmth and humor to her performance that makes her consistent refusals to accept Kate’s proposals even more striking.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of refusals
Noun
  • Long before launch, the team faced obstacles that nearly thwarted the endeavor — chiefly, two rejections from NASA — before finally securing the green light for the $1 billion project under the New Frontiers Program in 2011.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • An impasse was called in early September, in part, after SEIU Local 1000 expressed frustrations about mass proposal rejections.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of rejections
Noun
  • Roy, who has been part of negotiations since 2014, said he’s never seen denials like that before.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Collins followed up Ossoff’s presidential ambition denials on the debate stage by claiming the Democrat is playing the long game and would ultimately seek the White House.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of denials

Browse Nearby Words

no end
noes
noetic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Noes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/noes. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of asunder

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All