Phrase guide

not even

adv · intj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Introduces or constitutes a more emphatic negation or exclusion than "not".

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • Not even I knew that.
  • You didn't even look at me.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

intj

Meaning 2

Used to express strong disappointment or disapproval.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: colloquial

Examples

  • I heard they wanted to cancel the show tonight. – Not even!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

49 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Burmese: တောင် (taung) — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Catalan: ni tan sols — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Czech: ani — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Czech: ba ani — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Dutch: niet eens — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Dutch: nog niet — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Dutch: zelfs niet — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Esperanto: eĉ ne — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Finnish: ei edes — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • French: même pas — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Galician: nin sequera — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Galician: nin — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • German: nicht mal — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • German: nicht einmal — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • German: eben/selbst/sogar... nicht — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Ancient Greek: οὐδέ (oudé) — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Ancient Greek: μηδέ (mēdé) — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Icelandic: ekki einu sinni — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Interlingua: non mesmo — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Italian: neanche — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Italian: neppure — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Italian: nemmeno — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Italian: manco — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Latin: ne quidem — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ikke engang — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: selv ikke — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Portuguese: nem ao menos — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Portuguese: nem sequer — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Portuguese: nem mesmo — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Portuguese: nem — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Romanian: nici — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Russian: да́же не (dáže ne) — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Serbo-Croatian: чак нити — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Serbo-Croatian: чак ни — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Serbo-Croatian: čak niti — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Serbo-Croatian: čak ni — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Spanish: ni siquiera — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Swedish: inte ens — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Ukrainian: навіть не (navitʹ ne) — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Welsh: dim hyd yn oed — constitutes an emphatic negation
  • Catalan: i ara — used to express strong disappointment
  • Dutch: zelfs dat niet — used to express strong disappointment
  • Finnish: ei kai — used to express strong disappointment
  • Spanish: ni siquiera eso — used to express strong disappointment
  • Spanish: ni eso — used to express strong disappointment
  • Spanish: ni siquiera así — used to express strong disappointment
  • Spanish: ni así — used to express strong disappointment
  • Spanish: nunca — used to express strong disappointment
  • Spanish: jamás — used to express strong disappointment