nonetheless
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of nonetheless
First recorded in 1840–50; from the phrase none the less
Compare meaning
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Explanation
This is a word that people don't usually stop and define. They use it to link two seemingly contradictory thoughts. Nonetheless, it does have a definition. It means "in spite of." Break this word up to examine its meaning: None-the-less means that the statement you've just made does not diminish or make less what comes next. We are not at all prepared to climb this mountain, nonetheless we are going to try.
Vocabulary lists containing nonetheless
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Because of Mr. Terupt
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"A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long," Vocabulary from the poem
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Interest in the Backrooms persists precisely because they lack a fixed mythology, geographical reality, or narrative history, allowing users to construct meaning around places that, nonetheless, feel uncannily familiar.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
But while analysts argue that Love Island is far from a perfect mirror of society, it nonetheless operates as a cultural stage where shifting gender norms and emerging challenges are publicly rehearsed.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Douglass may not have held a role as a judge, legislator, or even enfranchised citizen, yet he nonetheless played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s understanding of equal citizenship in the Civil War era.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
“They say ‘We do not have a solution for the control problem, but nonetheless, we are going to spend $10 trillion creating these all-powerful psychopaths.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Modeled in the shape of a centaur, it rested on the table, but was in motion nonetheless.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
