mightn't

English

Etymology

might +‎ -n't

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪtənt/, [ˈmaɪʔn̩ʔ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

mightn't

1. (British) might not (negative auxiliary)
   • 1931, Mary Hunter Austin, Starry Adventure, page 274:

     Her driver was new to the country; he mightn't be prepared for the leaping of the yellow water down dry arroyos, swift as the pouncings of a cat, or the snake-like slidings of tons of loosened rock and clay from the steep potreros […]

   • 1963, Perry Mason, The Case of the Greek Goddess (Television Season 6, Episode 25)

     “But, mightn’t there have been something unusual about the Stimatis contract itself?” [Perry Mason cross-examining Roger Correll.]

   • 1974, Mario Vargas Llosa, Conversation in the Cathedral: A Novel, Harper & Row (First Rayo Edition, 2005), page 275:

     "But at night she would still think the same thing: mightn't it be that he wouldn't come to see her anymore?"

Coordinate terms

• can't, couldn't, mayn't, oughtn't, shan't, shouldn't, won't, wouldn't

See also

• Appendix:English modal verbs
• Appendix:English tag questions