wouldn't've
/ˈwʊd(ə)n(t)ə(v)/
wouldn't've is the contraction of would.
Meaning of would
Verb
would
- Used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.
- On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife.
- Used to, did repeatedly, habitually; indicates an action that happened several times in the past (cannot describe continuous states, as in I used to live in London)
- When we were younger, we would cycle out to the beach most summer Sundays.
- Synonyms:
- used to
- Was or were determined to; indicating someone's insistence upon doing something.
- I asked her to stay in with me, but she would go out.
- Wanted to.
- And thenne at laste a-nother sayd that he wolde have eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel.1490, William Caxton, Prologue to Eneydos
- Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.
- At which time he told me, he would to London that week, and so to Oxford.1694, John Strype, Memorials of The Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas Cranmer, Appendix page 68
- Wished, desired (something).
Synonyms of wouldn't've
Origin of wouldn't've
From would + -n't + -'ve.
Questions about wouldn't've
- What is wouldn't've the contraction of?
- Wouldn't've is the contraction of would.
- How do you pronounce wouldn't've?
- Wouldn't've is pronounced /ˈwʊd(ə)n(t)ə(v)/ (US).
Words near wouldn't've in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wouldn't've (page history and authors); would (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-AnotherFriendlyHuman-wouldn't've.wav.
Cite this entry: “wouldn't've.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wouldn%27t%27ve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
