wasn't

See also: wasnt

English

Alternative forms

• wadn't, warn't, wudn't, wunt (pronunciation spellings)
• wa'n't, wan't (pronunciation spellings, colloquial, dated)
• wasnt (informal, nonstandard)
• wazn't, wuzzent (eye dialect)

Etymology

From was +‎ -n't.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒz(ə)nt/, [ˈwɒzn̩(ʔ)], (colloquial, Yorkshire) IPA^(key): [ˈwɒn(ʔ)]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwʌz(ə)nt/, [ˈwʌzn̩(t)] (colloquial, dialectal) IPA^(key): [ˈwʌdn̩(t)]

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: was‧n't
• Rhymes: (RP) -ɒzənt
• Rhymes: (GA) -ʌzənt

Verb

wasn't

1. was not (negative auxiliary)
   • 1899, Hughes Mearns, Antigonish:

     Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …

Derived terms

• Rome wasn't built in a day

See also

• isn't
• weren't

Anagrams

• tawns, wanst, wants