Nothing — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

pronoun adverb noun adjective /ˈnə-thiŋ/ noth·ing

Meaning & Definition of Nothing

Nothing (pronoun)

  1. not any thing, no thing
  2. no part
  3. one of no interest, value, or consequence

Nothing (adverb)

  1. not at all, in no degree

Nothing (noun)

  1. something that does not exist
  2. the absence of all magnitude or quantity; also, zero
  3. nothingness, nonexistence

Nothing (adjective)

  1. of no account, worthless

Nothing (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a person of no importance or influence

    "his friends couldn't understand why he'd want to marry a girl who was an obvious nothing"

    similar: cipher, dwarf, half-pint, insect, insignificancy, lightweight, morsel, nobody, nonentity, nullity, number, pip-squeak, pygmy, snippersnapper, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch
    related: no-name, noncelebrity, least, inferior, mediocrity, obscurity, figurehead, puppet, nonperson, unperson, outcast, pariah, reject
    opposite: big shot, big wheel, bigwig, eminence, figure, kahuna, kingpin, magnate, nabob, personage, somebody, VIP
    near: chief, head, lead, leader, celebrity, luminary, notable, personality, planet, star, superstar, authority, superior, great power, party, power

  2. something of little importance

    "you're always worrying about nothing"

    similar: bagatelle, child's play, frippery, nonproblem, picayune, shuck(s), small beer, small change, trifle, triviality
    related: naught, nothingness, smoke, zero, peanuts, pittance, song, straw, two bits, bunk, claptrap, drivel, folly, fribble, fudge, hogwash, humbug, humbuggery, nonsense, piffle, rot, trash, trivia, bit, crumb, dab, dram, lick, mite, ounce, particle, pinhead, scintilla, shred, smidgen, soupçon, speck, spot, tad, touch, trace

  3. the numerical symbol 0 or the absence of number or quantity represented by it

    "two minus two equals nothing"

    similar: aught, cipher, goose egg, naught, nil, o, oh, zero, zilch, zip
    related: blank, void

Nothing (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. not in any degree, way, or under any condition

    "nothing daunted by the poor reception his first novel received, he proceeded to write another one"

    similar: never, no, none, noway, nowise, by no means, in no wise, nothing doing, on no account
    related: nowhere near, barely, hardly, marginally, narrowly, scarcely, slightly
    opposite: anyhow, anyway, anywise, at all, ever, half, however
    near: completely, extremely, full, fully, par excellence, right, very, altogether, exactly, somehow, someway, out

Nothing (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in worthless, valueless

    similar: good-for-nothing, no-good, valueless, worthless
    opposite: inestimable, invaluable, priceless, immeasurable, incalculable, costly, dear, expensive, high, precious, premium, pricey, superexpensive, valuable

Related Entry: Nothing doing (phrase)

Nothing doing is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for nothing doing, not for nothing.

  1. certainly not

    "They offered to pick up the entire tab for dinner, but I said nothing doing."

    similar: hardly, ill, no, none, noway, scarcely, by no means, on no account
    related: near, never, nothing, nowhere, nowise
    opposite: absolutely, certainly, completely, definitely, positively, surely
    near: awful, awfully, enormously, exceedingly, extremely, greatly, highly, hugely, immensely, mightily, mighty, most, quite, terribly, very, assuredly, clearly, hands down, perfectly, plainly, really, truly, unequivocally, unquestionably, utterly, doubtless, more or less, mostly, rather, slightly, somewhat

  2. not in any degree, way, or under any condition

    "I hoped the near miss would change his driving habits, but nothing doing."

    similar: no, none, nothing, noway, nowise, by no means, in no wise, on no account
    related: nowhere near, barely, hardly, marginally, narrowly, scarcely, slightly
    opposite: anyhow, anyway, anywise, at all, ever, half, however
    near: completely, extremely, full, fully, par excellence, right, very, altogether, exactly, somehow, someway, out

Related Entry: Do-nothing (noun)

Do-nothing is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for do-nothing, not for nothing.

  1. a lazy person

    "the new boss quickly figured out who the do-nothings were and fired them"

    similar: couch potato, deadbeat, drone, idler, layabout, lazybones, loafer, lotus-eater, slouch, slug, slugabed, sluggard
    related: bum, good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well, crawler, creeper, dawdler, laggard, putterer, slowpoke, snail, stick-in-the-mud, straggler, clock-watcher, goldbrick, malingerer, shirker, slacker, dallier, lingerer, loiterer, loller, lounger, saunterer, delayer, procrastinator, dropout, quitter
    opposite: doer, go-ahead, go-getter, hummer, hustler, self-starter
    near: achiever, comer, highflier, live wire, powerhouse

  2. an idle worthless person

    "he indiscriminately dismisses the state legislators as a bunch of do-nothings who live at the taxpayers' expense"

    similar: bum, derelict, good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well, no-account, no-good, no-goodnik, slacker, vagrant
    related: hobo, sundowner (Australian), tramp, vagabond, drifter, roamer, transient, beggar, panhandler, dodger, goldbrick, shirker, gamine, ragamuffin, urchin, waif, drone, idler, lazybones, loafer, slouch, slug, sluggard, down-and-out, indigent, pauper
    near: success, winner

Related Entry: Good-for-nothing (adjective)

Good-for-nothing is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for good-for-nothing, not for nothing.

  1. having no ambition, success, or value to society

    "refused to leave anything in his will to his good-for-nothing grandchildren"

    similar: ne'er-do-well, no-account, no-good
    related: idle, indolent, lazy, shiftless, slothful, unambitious, useless, worthless
    near: ambitious, diligent, enterprising, industrious

Related Entry: Good-for-nothing (noun)

Good-for-nothing is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for good-for-nothing, not for nothing.

  1. an idle worthless person

    "teacher after teacher had predicted that he would never be more than a good-for-nothing"

    similar: bum, derelict, do-nothing, ne'er-do-well, no-account, no-good, no-goodnik, slacker, vagrant
    related: hobo, sundowner (Australian), tramp, vagabond, drifter, roamer, transient, beggar, panhandler, dodger, goldbrick, shirker, gamine, ragamuffin, urchin, waif, drone, idler, lazybones, loafer, slouch, slug, sluggard, down-and-out, indigent, pauper
    near: success, winner

Related Entry: Know-nothing (noun)

Know-nothing is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for know-nothing, not for nothing.

  1. a stupid person

    "often disparaged her coworkers as a bunch of know-nothings"

    similar: airhead, birdbrain, blockhead, bonehead, bubblehead, chowderhead, chucklehead, clodpoll, clot (British), cluck, clunk, cretin, cuddy (British dialect), deadhead, dim bulb (slang), dimwit, dip, dodo, dolt, donkey, doofus (slang), dope, dork (slang), dullard, dum-dum, dumbbell, dumbhead, dummkopf, dummy, dunce, dunderhead, fathead, gander, golem, goof, goon, half-wit, hammerhead, hardhead, idiot, ignoramus, imbecile, jackass, knucklehead, lamebrain, loggerhead (chiefly dialect), loon, lump, lunkhead, meathead, mome (archaic), moron, mug (chiefly British), mutt, nimrod (slang), nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nit (chiefly British), nitwit, noddy, noodle, numskull, oaf, pinhead, prat (British), ratbag (chiefly Australian), saphead, schlub (slang), schnook (slang), simpleton, stock, stupe, stupid, thickhead, turkey, woodenhead, yahoo, yo-yo, dumb cluck
    related: booby, buffoon, fool, goose, loony, madman, nut, zany, loser, gawk, featherbrain, scatterbrain, beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cur, heel, jerk, skunk, snake, stinker, villain
    opposite: brain, genius
    near: intellect, intellectual, sage, thinker, whiz, wizard, polymath, Renaissance man, sharpie

Related Entry: Apropos of (preposition)

Apropos of is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for apropos of, not for nothing.

  1. having to do with

    "apropos of our earlier conversation, here's that file I mentioned"

    similar: about, apropos, as far as, as for, as regards, as to, concerning, of, on, regarding, respecting, touching, toward, in regard to, in respect to, in view of, with regard to, with respect to
    related: over

Related Entry: Say (verb)

Say is a different word from Nothing. The synonyms below are for say, not for nothing.

  1. to express (a thought or emotion) in words

    "why don't you just say what's on your mind?"

    similar: articulate, bring out, enunciate, pass, speak, state, talk, tell, utter, verbalize, vocalize, put into words
    related: air, discuss, give, look, share, sound, vent, ventilate, voice, blabber, bolt, blurt, get off, shoot, advertise, announce, blaze, broadcast, declare, post, proclaim, promulgate, publicize, publish, affirm, allege, assert, aver, avouch, avow, breathe, chirp, drawl, gasp, lip, mouth, murmur, purr, shout, splutter, spout, whisper, clothe, couch, formulate, formulize, phrase, put, word, comment, pipe up (with), remark, rip (out), snarl
    near: stifle, suppress

  2. to convey in appropriate or telling terms

    "I'm not quite sure how to say this, but that's the worst essay I've ever read"

    similar: articulate, clothe, couch, express, formulate, phrase, put, state, word
    related: craft, frame, hint, imply, insinuate, intimate, suggest, paraphrase, rephrase, restate, reword, summarize, translate, communicate, disclose, speak, talk, tell, utter, verbalize, vocalize, describe, render, write up

  3. to give from memory

    "say your prayers"

    similar: recite, reel off, repeat
    related: con, learn, memorize, study, declaim, mouth, orate, speak
    near: read

  4. to take as true or as a fact without actual proof

    "let's say, for the sake of argument, that this is true"

    similar: assume, hypothecate, hypothesize, postulate, premise, presume, presuppose, suppose, take for granted
    related: accept, believe, credit, swallow, conclude, deduce, gather, infer, judge, take, conjecture, figure, guess, reckon (chiefly dialect), surmise, suspect, suspicion (chiefly dialect), think, conceive, dream, fancy, imagine, perceive, preconceive, speculate, theorize, affirm, allege, assert, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, declare, insist, maintain, profess
    near: challenge, controvert, disagree (with), disbelieve, discount, discredit, dispute, distrust, doubt, mistrust, question, wonder (about), deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, reject, repudiate, belie, confute, disprove, rebut, refute

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Nothing

The most common words with a similar meaning to Nothing:

cipher, dwarf, half-pint, insect, insignificancy, lightweight, morsel, nobody, nonentity, nullity, number, pip-squeak, pygmy, snippersnapper, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch, bagatelle, child's play, frippery, nonproblem, picayune, shuck(s), small beer, small change, trifle, triviality, aught, goose egg, naught, nil, o, oh, zip, never, no, none, noway, nowise

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Nothing

Words with the opposite meaning of Nothing:

big shot, big wheel, bigwig, eminence, figure, kahuna, kingpin, magnate, nabob, personage, somebody, VIP, anyhow, anyway, anywise, at all, ever, half, however, inestimable, invaluable, priceless, immeasurable, incalculable, costly, dear, expensive, high, precious, premium

Related Words for Nothing

no-name, noncelebrity, least, inferior, mediocrity, obscurity, figurehead, puppet, nonperson, unperson, outcast, pariah, reject, nothingness, smoke, peanuts, pittance, song, straw, two bits, bunk, claptrap, drivel, folly, fribble, fudge, hogwash, humbug, humbuggery, nonsense

Near Antonyms of Nothing

chief, head, lead, leader, celebrity, luminary, notable, personality, planet, star, superstar, authority, superior, great power, party, power, completely, extremely, full, fully, par excellence, right, very, altogether, exactly, somehow, someway, out

Word Forms of Nothing

Inflections: nothings

Origin & Etymology of Nothing

Middle English, from Old English nān thing, nāthing, from nān no + thing thing none

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Nothing

Words & Phrases Containing Nothing

nothing burger, nothing doing, nothing for it, nothing like, nothing but trouble, nothing comes of

Frequently Asked Questions about Nothing

What does "Nothing" mean?

"Nothing" means not any thing, no thing. As an a pronoun, an adverb, a noun and an adjective, it is defined as: not any thing, no thing. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Nothing"?

Other words for "Nothing" include cipher, dwarf, half-pint, insect, insignificancy, lightweight, morsel and nobody. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Nothing" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Nothing"?

There are 109 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Nothing". Common alternatives include cipher, dwarf, half-pint, insect, insignificancy, lightweight, morsel, nobody, nonentity and nullity.

What is the opposite of "Nothing"?

Antonyms of "Nothing" include big shot, big wheel, bigwig, eminence, figure, kahuna, kingpin and magnate. Near antonyms include chief, head, lead and leader.

How do you use "Nothing" in a sentence?

Examples of "Nothing" in a sentence: "his friends couldn't understand why he'd want to marry a girl who was an obvious nothing"; "you're always worrying about nothing"; "two minus two equals nothing".

Is "Nothing" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Nothing" can be used as a pronoun, an adverb, a noun and an adjective, depending on the context.

Is "Nothing" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Nothing" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Nothing"?

"Nothing" is pronounced /ˈnə-thiŋ/ and divided into syllables as noth·ing.