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need not. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
need not, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
need not in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
need not you have here. The definition of the word
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need not, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Verb
need not (third-person singular simple present needs not, present participle needing not, simple past and past participle needed not)
- (chiefly UK, auxiliary, indicating absence of necessity) do not have to, do not need to.
2013, Alan Chalmers, What is this thing called Science?, University of Queensland Press, page 36:My example illustrates how circularity can arise in arguments that appeal to experiment. But the very same example serves to show that this need not be the case.
- (auxiliary, indicating inadvisability) Ought not to.
2018 June 1, Gerard Letterie, “Education is the beacon that lights our path forward in America”, in The Seattle Times:Want ads for what little manual labor there was frequently had the stipulation INNA, an acronym for Italians and Irish Need Not Apply.
Usage notes
In one sense used to show that something is not necessary, indicating non-obligation or non-inevitability. In another sense used to indicate that something should not be done because it is futile. Can be used in either sense without inflectional change for singular and plural subjects alike.
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