won't en · VERB
Pronunciation
- /wʊnt/ (US, dialectal)
- wōnt (General-American)
- /woʊnt/ (General-American)
- wōnt (Received-Pronunciation)
- /wunt/ (US, dialectal)
- [wõt(ˀ)] (General-American)
- [wo(ː)ɫnt] (dialectal)
- /wəʊnt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /wʌnt/ (US, dialectal)
- (US) audio
- [woːnt] (Canada)
- [wʊ(ɫ)nt] (dialectal)
- [wõʔ] (General-American)
- wo͞ont (US, dialectal)
- /ˈwɪnɪt/ (Northumbria)
- wŭnt (US, dialectal)
- (Australia) audio
- wo͝ont (US, dialectal)
Etymology
From earlier wonnot, from Middle English wynnot, wilnot, wolnot, wilnat, a contraction of Middle English will not, wil not, wyll not, will noght, wil noht, willi noȝt, wyl nat, wol not, woll not, wole not, wolle not, wol nat, woll nat, etc., equivalent to a will + not and/or woll + not. For the pronunciation with /oʊ/, /əʊ/, see poultry.
Meanings
-
will not (negative auxiliary); used to indicate a future non-occurring action.
Sam won't be doing any work this afternoon.
-
doesn't want to
He either can't or won't do anything about it.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wo'n't | alternative, archaic | lexicographic | |
| wonnot | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Coordinates
mayn't · couldn't · oughtn't · mightn't · wouldn't · can't · shan't · shouldn't
Synonyms
wolln't (will not) · wonnot (will not) · wo'n't (will not) · willn't (will not)
Translations (5)
pl nie (contraction of “will not”) · mi kāore ... mō te (contraction of “will not”) · sh ne htjeti (contraction of “will not”) · mi e kore ... e (contraction of “will not”) · cmn 不會 /不会 (contraction of “will not”)