aren't

See also: arent and Arent

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɑːnt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑɹ(ə)nt/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)nt
• Homophone: aunt (some non-rhotic dialects)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *arun?

Old English earon

Middle English aren

English are

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Germanic *ne

Proto-West Germanic *ne

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-

Proto-Indo-European *-u

Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu

Proto-Indo-European *-osinflu.

Proto-Germanic *aiwaz

Proto-West Germanic *aiw

univ.

Proto-West Germanic *naiw

Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ-

Proto-Indo-European *-tis

Proto-Indo-European *wékʷtisder.?

Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-

Proto-Indo-European *-tis

Proto-Indo-European *wéǵʰtisder.?

Proto-Germanic *wihtą

Proto-West Germanic *wiht

Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht

Old English nāwiht

Old English *nōht

Middle English nought

Middle English not

English notder.

English n’t

English aren't

From are + n’t.

Verb

aren't

1. are not (negative auxiliary)

Synonyms

• ain’t (slang)

Antonyms

• are

Etymology 2

Spelling replacement of the homonym an’t.

Verb

aren't

1. (colloquial) A contraction of “am not”, used e.g. in the construction "aren’t I?"
   • 1904, George Manville Fenn, To Win Or To Die: A Tale of the Klondike Gold Craze:

     I’m a nasty-tempered dog if any one tries to take my bone away; aren’t I, my sons?

   • 2008 July 1, “Falling in Love”, in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff):

     Aren’t I supposed to tell you how I feel?

   • 2010 October 26, “Why Aren’t I Home?”, in Athletics (music), Why Aren’t I Home?‎^[1]:

Usage notes

• Aren’t as a contraction of “am not” is used most often in the question aren’t I? (= am I not?). In the non-interrogative form, the standard contraction of “I am not” is “I’m not”.

Synonyms

• ain't
• amn't (Scotland, Ireland)

Antonyms

• am

Anagrams

• Netra, Teran, antre, atren, earnt, nater