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Word Study
nothing
CIDE DICTIONARY
nothing, n. [From no, a. + thing.].
- Not anything; no thing (in the widest sense of the word thing); -- opposed to
anything andsomething . [1913 Webster]"Yet had his aspect nothing of severe." [1913 Webster] - Nonexistence; nonentity; absence of being; nihility; nothingness. Shak. [1913 Webster]
- A thing of no account, value, or note; something irrelevant and impertinent; something of comparative unimportance; utter insignificance; a trifle. [1913 Webster]"Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought." [1913 Webster]"'T is nothing, says the fool; but, says the friend,
This nothing, sir, will bring you to your end." [1913 Webster] - A cipher; naught. [1913 Webster]
nothing, adv.
In no degree; not at all; in no wise. [1913 Webster]
"Adam, with such counsel nothing swayed." [1913 Webster]
"The influence of reason in producing our passions is nothing near so extensive as is commonly believed." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
nothing, n. & adv.
--n.
1 not anything (nothing has been done; have nothing to do).
2 no thing (often foll. by compl.: I see nothing that I want; can find nothing useful).
3 a a person or thing of no importance or concern; a trivial event or remark (was nothing to me; the little nothings of life). b (attrib.) colloq. of no value; indeterminate (a nothing sort of day).
4 non-existence; what does not exist.
5 (in calculations) no amount; nought (a third of nothing is nothing).
--adv.
1 not at all, in no way (helps us nothing; is nothing like enough).
2 US colloq. not at all (Is he ill? -- Ill nothing, he's dead.).
--n.
1 not anything (nothing has been done; have nothing to do).
2 no thing (often foll. by compl.: I see nothing that I want; can find nothing useful).
3 a a person or thing of no importance or concern; a trivial event or remark (was nothing to me; the little nothings of life). b (attrib.) colloq. of no value; indeterminate (a nothing sort of day).
4 non-existence; what does not exist.
5 (in calculations) no amount; nought (a third of nothing is nothing).
--adv.
1 not at all, in no way (helps us nothing; is nothing like enough).
2 US colloq. not at all (Is he ill? -- Ill nothing, he's dead.).
Idiom
be nothing to
1 not concern.
2 not compare with.
be (or have) nothing to do with
1 have no connection with.
2 not be involved or associated with.
for nothing
1 at no cost; without payment.
2 to no purpose.
have nothing on
1 be naked.
2 have no engagements. no nothing colloq. (concluding a list of negatives) nothing at all.
nothing doing colloq.
1 a there is no prospect of success or agreement. b I refuse.
2 nothing is happening. nothing (or nothing else) for it (often foll. by but to + infin.) no alternative (nothing for it but to pay up).
nothing (or not much) in it (or to it)
1 untrue or unimportant.
2 simple to do.
3 no (or little) advantage to be seen in one possibility over another. nothing less than at least (nothing less than a disaster). think nothing of it do not apologize or feel bound to show gratitude.
1 not concern.
2 not compare with.
be (or have) nothing to do with
1 have no connection with.
2 not be involved or associated with.
for nothing
1 at no cost; without payment.
2 to no purpose.
have nothing on
1 be naked.
2 have no engagements. no nothing colloq. (concluding a list of negatives) nothing at all.
nothing doing colloq.
1 a there is no prospect of success or agreement. b I refuse.
2 nothing is happening. nothing (or nothing else) for it (often foll. by but to + infin.) no alternative (nothing for it but to pay up).
nothing (or not much) in it (or to it)
1 untrue or unimportant.
2 simple to do.
3 no (or little) advantage to be seen in one possibility over another. nothing less than at least (nothing less than a disaster). think nothing of it do not apologize or feel bound to show gratitude.
Etymology
OE nan thing (as NO(1), THING)
THESAURUS
nothing
a little thing, a nobody, a nothing, aught, bagatelle, blank, cipher, clean slate, common man, dud, dummy, empty space, figurehead, good-for-nothing, goose egg, hardly anything, hollow man, inanity, inessential, insignificancy, jackstraw, lay figure, lightweight, little fellow, little guy, man of straw, marginal matter, matter of indifference, mediocrity, mere nothing, minor matter, nada, naught, nebbish, nichts, nihil, nihility, nil, nix, no great matter, no such thing, no-account, no-good, nobody, nobody one knows, nonentity, nothing at all, nothing in particular, nothing on earth, nothing to signify, nothing whatever, nothingness, nought, nullity, obscurity, ought, paltry affair, peanuts, peu de chose, pip-squeak, punk, puppet, pushover, rien du tout, runt, scarcely anything, scrub, shrimp, small fry, small potato, small potatoes, squirt, squit, tabula rasa, technicality, thing of naught, trifle, unworthy, vacuum, valueless, void, whiffet, whippersnapper, wind, zero, zilchROGET THESAURUS
nothing
Unsubstantiality
N unsubstantiality, insubstantiality, nothingness, nihility, no degree, no part, no quantity, no thing, nothing, naught, nil, nullity, zero, cipher, no one, nobody, never a one, ne'er a one, no such thing, none in the world, nothing whatever, nothing at all, nothing on earth, not a particle, all talk, moonshine, stuff and nonsense, matter of no importance, matter of no consequence, thing of naught, man of straw, John Doe and Richard Roe, faggot voter, nominis umbra, nonentity, flash in the pan, vox et praeterea nihil, shadow, phantom, dream, ignis fatuus, such stuff as dreams are made of, air, thin air, vapor, bubble, baseless fabric of a vision, mockery, hollowness, blank, void, inanity, fool's paradise, unsubstantial, baseless, groundless, ungrounded, without foundation, having no foundation, visionary, immaterial, spectral, dreamy, shadowy, ethereal, airy, cloud built, cloud formed, gossamery, illusory, insubstantial, unreal, vacant, vacuous, empty, eviscerated, blank, hollow, nominal, null, inane, there's nothing in it, an ocean of dreams without a sound.Unimportance
N unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, Rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, trifles light as air, yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, leather or prunello, chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing, unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle-fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one- horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain, slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares, Int, no matter!, pish!, tush!, tut!, pshaw!, pugh!, pooh, pooh-pooh!, fudge!, bosh!, humbug!, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end!, fiddlededee!, never mind!, n'importe!, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for', stuff!, nonsense!, stuff and nonsense, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau.Zero
N zero, nothing, null, nul, naught, nought, void, cipher, goose egg, none, nobody, no one, nichts, nixie, nix, zilch, zip, zippo, not a soul, ame qui vive, absence, unsubstantiality, not one, not a one, not any, nary a one, not a, never a, not a whit of, not an iota of, not a drop of, not a speck of, not a jot, not a trace of, not a hint of, not a smidgen of, not a suspicion of, not a shadow of, neither hide nor hair of.Also see definition of "nothing" in Bible Study Dictionaries
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