Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use not in a sentence

40 example sentences · adverb, conjunction, interjection

Not means negates the meaning of the modified verb. Example: “Did you take out the trash? — No, I did not. I do not think it was my turn, was it?”

Examples of not by meaning

adverbNegates the meaning of the modified verb.

  • Did you take out the trash? — No, I did not. I do not think it was my turn, was it?
  • Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
  • It was felt desirable that she not leave school before fourteen.

adverbTo no degree.

  • That is not red; it's green.
  • It's not you, it's me.

adverbUsed to indicate the opposite or near opposite, often in a form of understatement.

  • That day was not the best day of my life. (meaning the day was bad or awful)
  • It was not my favorite movie of all time. (meaning the speaker dislikes or strongly dislikes the movie)
  • After not a few threats, they got what they’d been after for so long.

adverbUsed before a determiner phrase, a pronominal phrase etc. to convey a negative attitude (e.g. denial, sadness, anger)...

  • Oh god, not that! Anything but that!
  • Not another rainy day!

adverbUsed before a non-finite clause (especially a gerund-participial clause) or less commonly a determiner phrase to...

  • Not me writing example sentences again.
  • Not me crying by the end of that!!2023 July 8, @brielarson [Brie Larson], Twitter

conjunctionAnd not.

  • I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
  • He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
  • We can't run this bar without her. Not and raise two kids.

interjectionUsed to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.

  • Clear and lucid to the point of limpidity - 'not."1949, E.E 'Doc' Smith, chapter XIV, in Skylark of Valeron, London: Panther, published 1974, page 134
  • Charming place - not.1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 42

nounAn instance of using the word “not”; a negation or denial.

  • It is full of don’ts, buts and nots.1922 March 4, “Fed on Fear Too Much”, in The Pathfinder, volume 29, number 1470, Washington, D.C.: Pathfinder Publishing Company, page 33

More sentences with not

  • I’m not sure how to word this letter to the council.From the entry word
  • It is not a retail showroom. It is only for the trade.From the entry trade
  • Kindness is a verb, not an adjective. You're only kind if you do kind things.From the entry verb
  • One visitor named Hou Yugang said he was not too concerned about climate change and Baishui’s melting.From the entry name
  • Police are not naming the suspect as he is a minor.From the entry name
  • The new teacher was strict and the students did not want to abide by his rules.From the entry abide
  • It's not fair to do that – it's just not on.From the entry on
  • He was of noble birth, but fortune had not favored him.From the entry birth
  • The electromagnetic field does not drop all of the way to zero before a reversal.From the entry zero
  • Not all Trekkies go around speaking Klingon and making endless references to the original Star Trek series.From the entry trekkie
  • Very few did she have not to go there, did she?From the entry few
  • The apple looked fine on the outside, but the meat was not very firm.From the entry meat
  • His bit about video games was not nearly as entertaining as the other segments of his show.From the entry bit
  • It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid.From the entry be
  • The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come.From the entry be
  • While being impulsive can be great for artists, it is not a desirable quality for engineers.From the entry quality
  • A peasant is not allowed to fall in love with a lady of quality.From the entry quality
  • The language used in the law does not permit any other interpretation.From the entry language
  • Johnny's not doing so well today, I think he caught the epizootic.From the entry epizootic
  • They make beef stock from the butchery scraps that they otherwise might not have used.From the entry stock
  • The economics of running a restaurant are not easy to get right.From the entry economics
  • My brother tends to value religion, but my sister not as much.From the entry religion

Meaning of not

  1. adverb Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
  2. adverb To no degree.
  3. adverb Used to indicate the opposite or near opposite, often in a form of understatement.

Full definition of not

Questions about not in a sentence

How do you use not in a sentence?
Not is used as an adverb, conjunction and interjection. For example: “Did you take out the trash? — No, I did not. I do not think it was my turn, was it?”
What is a short sentence with not?
“Charming place - not.”
What does not mean?
Not means negates the meaning of the modified verb.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: not (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use not in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/not. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.