not

adverb

Definition of notnext
as in never
in no way or under no circumstances The food was so burnt that it was not edible.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for not
  1. never
  2. rarely
  3. seldom
Adverb
  • Fitoussi said the project began almost as a joke, with the idea of casting one of France’s busiest actors as someone who never gets to act.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Her mother never graduated from high school and died at age 52 of ovarian cancer.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of never
Adverb
  • The expression has different meanings across cultures, rarely referring to its literal translation.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Loudspeakers around the protest site warned that gatherings of five or more people were banned in parts of New Delhi, as authorities imposed sweeping security restrictions rarely seen in the capital.
    — Sheikh Saaliq, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of rarely
Adverb
  • Run by Garelick and President Will Phelps, American High was founded to fill a gap in the feature market by producing the kinds of teen comedies that are now seldom made elsewhere.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Yet the melodrama of the Trask men—and the misfortune of the women who come into their lives—has seldom been brought to the screen, most likely because of the challenges posed by the saga’s narrative sprawl.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of seldom
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.

Phrases Containing not

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nosy
not
notabilities
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Cite this Entry

“Not.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/not. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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