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.
Economists, nonetheless, expect the penalty of higher oil prices to provide the biggest boost to last month’s inflation measure.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
That team became the lordly Yankees, an “aesthetically evil” and “universally despised dynasty” that, nonetheless, Mr. Gittlitz grudgingly admits, has a lot of working-class fans.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Chung’s Umma doesn’t take up a lot of room in the play, but her maternal presence registers sharply nonetheless.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
Similarly, the bank’s measure of equity positioning has receded from the January peak of the 81st percentile down to the 62nd percentile — which nonetheless is way above the 18th-percentile low in May 2022.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
It doesn’t work, but he smiles nonetheless, clearly proud of his ability to spout useless information.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
