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nay

/neɪ/
/neɪ/
IPA guide

Other forms: nays

A nay is a "no" or "negative" vote. If you vote nay during your club's vote, you are voting against the proposal.

If your teacher holds a vote on whether to have a pizza party instead of a geometry quiz, it's unlikely anyone will vote nay. Long ago, the word nay was simply used as a substitute for "no," but it sounds odd today: "Nay, I don't need any ketchup with my fries." You can use it, however, to mean "this word is more appropriate," as when you say, "I'm upset, nay furious, that you forgot my birthday."

Definitions of nay
  1. noun
    a negative
    “the nays have it”
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    yea
    an affirmative
    type of:
    negative
    a reply of denial
  2. adverb
    not this merely but also; not only so but
    “each of us is peculiar, nay, in a sense unique”
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘nay'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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