oughtn't
AmericanUsage
See contraction, ought 1.
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.
If those claims are true, oughtn’t the grievance go the other way?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Lancie Clippinger said to me, and he was very serious, that a man oughtn’t to milk but about twenty-five cows, because if he keeps to that number, he’ll see them every day.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 14, 2019
Asked, for instance, whether he liked whitewashing fences, Tom had said: “Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2017
In the first instance, there oughtn’t ever be any fine-grained analysis of the tab, as on the episode of Portlandia where stymied diners require the arithmetic intervention of a Winston Wolfe figure.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2014
"And oughtn't something to be done about this attack on Anvard. Oughtn't your High King to be told?"
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
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