naysay
Americanverb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of naysay
Explanation
If you've ever wanted to do something and a parent has told you no, you know what naysay means. To naysay is to to refuse or oppose something: for example, a parent might naysay having a hamburger for dinner. Naysay is made up of the parts nay and say. Nay comes from a Scandinavian root, and say comes from an Old English root. The word naysay itself, as a verb, was originally from Scottish English, which makes sense when you look at the etymology, as there has been a lot of Scandinavian influence on Scotland and Northern England. Go ahead and blame the Vikings!
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.
“You don’t change a culture overnight. The first part of that is acknowledging what has happened. Nobody can naysay or deny or act ignorant anymore.”
From Washington Post • May 23, 2022
“I’m a man first and foremost. I didn’t get this far by listening to all the naysay and doubters. I just come to work and do my job every day.”
From Seattle Times • Oct. 9, 2020
She thought it stank of moisture and car exhaust, but she wouldn’t naysay Sasha.
From Nature • Dec. 17, 2019
Fighting words, and I’m sure something Germany, Brazil and Japan will be keen to naysay later in the tournament.
From The Guardian • Jun. 16, 2015
Friend, and chieftain of the Wolf, thou mayst hear by this shouting of the people that we have no mind to naysay our yea-say.
From The Roots of the Mountains; Wherein Is Told Somewhat of the Lives of the Men of Burgdale by Morris, William
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.
