Word
naw
/ˈnɑ/
Definition
interj. a very casual way to say no.
interj. an informal or dialectal variant of the negative particle 'no'.
Examples
“Naw, I don't think I want to go out tonight.”
“When I asked if he had finished the report yet, he just laughed and said naw.”
“While the formal proposal required a written rejection, the initial verbal response was a simple 'naw' from the lead developer, indicating the idea was non-viable from the start.”
Examples
simple
“Naw, I don't think I want to go out tonight.”
contextual
“When I asked if he had finished the report yet, he just laughed and said naw.”
complex
“While the formal proposal required a written rejection, the initial verbal response was a simple 'naw' from the lead developer, indicating the idea was non-viable from the start.”
Usage
Used almost exclusively in speech or informal text messaging.
Teaching tip
This is a relaxed, often regional pronunciation. Students should avoid using it in any professional or academic writing.
Etymology
In Scottish use, from Scots naw, naa, na, from Middle English na, from Old English nā (“no, never”). More generally, a colloquial, unarticulated form of no; compare nah. More at no.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/naw