none

¹

[ nuhn ]

pronoun

1. not one:

   None of the members is going.

2. not any, as of something indicated:

   None of the pie is left. That is none of your business.

3. no part; nothing:

   I'll have none of your backtalk!

4. (used with a plural verb) no or not any persons or things:

   I left three pies on the table and now there are none. None were left when I came.

adverb

1. to no extent; in no way; not at all:

   The supply is none too great.

adjective

1. Archaic. not any; no (usually used only before a vowel or h ):

   Thou shalt have none other gods but me.

none

²

[ nohn ]

noun

1. nones ¹.

none

¹

/ nʌn /

pronoun

1. not any of a particular class

   none of my letters has arrived

2. no-one; nobody

   there was none to tell the tale

3. no part (of a whole); not any (of)

   none of it looks edible

4. none other
   no other person

   none other than the Queen herself

5. none the
   foll by a comparative adjective in no degree

   she was none the worse for her ordeal

6. none too
   not very

   he was none too pleased with his car

none

²

/ nəʊn /

noun

1. another word for nones

Usage

None is a singular pronoun and should be used with a singular form of a verb: none of the students has (not have ) a car

Grammar Note

Since none has the meanings “not one” and “not any,” some insist that it always be treated as a singular and be followed by a singular verb: The rescue party searched for survivors, but none was found. However, none has been used with both singular and plural verbs since the 9th century. When the sense is “not any persons or things” (as in the example above), the plural is more common: … none were found. Only when none is clearly intended to mean “not one” or “not any” is it followed by a singular verb: Of all my articles, none has received more acclaim than my latest one.

Word History and Origins

Origin of none¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English non, Old English nān, equivalent to ne “not” + ān “one”; one

Origin of none²

1175–1225; Middle English; Old English nōn < Latin nōna ( hōra ) ninth (hour). See noon

Word History and Origins

Origin of none¹

Old English nān, literally: not one

Idioms and Phrases

• all (none) of the above
• bar none
• not have it (have none of)
• second to none

Example Sentences

None of it’s happening,” she told Vanity Fair in an interview published Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times

None of the parties stressed that argument, but Justice Colleen Zahn acknowledged the majority’s emphasis on it in her dissent.

From Slate

“None of the attorneys had what Trump wants, and they didn’t talk like Gaetz,” the adviser said of the competition for attorney general.

From Salon

None of the academic and security experts I spoke with knew how to answer this.

From Salon

None of those delivered the more perfect, truly inclusive democracy that I think we all aspire to have.

From Slate

Related Words

• no one
• nobody
• nothing