nill
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of nill
before 900; Middle English nillen, Old English nyllan, contraction of phrase ne willan ; see no 1, will 1, willy-nilly
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.
“The punishment for disrespecting these sacred personalities was almost nill earlier,” said Abdul Akbar Chitrali, a lawmaker belonging to a religious political party and author of the bill.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2023
Britain needs a Post Bank to provide universal banking and local enterprise funds or a community reinvestment nill to help encourage savings back into disadvantaged areas.
From The Guardian • Jun. 17, 2010
We read his work, and see his human heart, His manly mind, his true, if thwarted, will, And all that's noblest in us takes his part, And shames our former verdict, will or nill.
From Sonnets and Other Verse by MacKeracher, W. M.
Shakespeare makes the killing of Polonius a turning-point; thenceforth Hamlet must, will he nill he, in some dawdling sort sweep to his revenge.
From The Crest-Wave of Evolution A Course of Lectures in History, Given to the Graduates' Class in the Raja-Yoga College, Point Loma, in the College-Year 1918-19 by Morris, Kenneth
Will I, nill I, I may never from my neck his yoke unloose.
From Theocritus, translated into English Verse by Theocritus
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.
