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neither

[nee-ther, nahy-]

Example Sentences Origin

conjunction

not either, as of persons or things specified (usually followed by nor): Neither John nor Betty is at home.

nor; nor yet; no more: Bob can't go, and neither can I. If she doesn't want it, neither do I.

adjective

not either; not the one or the other: Neither statement is true.

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Neither is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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pronoun

not either; not one person or the other; not one thing or the other: Neither of the suggestions will do. Neither is to be trusted.

Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English, equivalent to ne not + either; replacing Middle English nawther, Old English nāwther, nāhwæther (nā not, no¹ + hwæther which of two; see whether)

Can be confused: either, neither (see usage and pronunciation notes at either; see usage note at the current entry).

Usage note
As an adjective or pronoun meaning “not either,” neither is usually followed by a singular verb and referred to by a singular personal pronoun: Neither lawyer prepares her own briefs. Neither performs his duties for reward. When neither is followed by a prepositional phrase with a plural object, there has been, ever since the 17th century, a tendency, especially in speech and less formal writing, to use a plural verb and personal pronoun: Neither of the guards were at their stations. EXPANDIn edited writing, however, singular verbs and pronouns are more common in such constructions: Neither of the guards was at his station.
As a correlative conjunction, neither is almost always followed by nor, not or: Neither the liberals nor the conservatives had originally supported the winner. Subjects connected by neither … nor take singular verbs and pronouns when both subjects are singular (Neither Diane nor Nicole has her own apartment), plural when both are plural: Neither the Yankees nor the Dodgers got much help from their bull pens that year. Usage guides commonly say that when a singular and a plural subject are joined by these correlative conjunctions, the noun or pronoun nearer the verb should determine the number of the verb: Neither the mayor nor the council members have yielded on the issue. Neither the council members nor the mayor has yielded on the issue. Practice in this matter varies, however, and often the presence of one plural, no matter what its position, results in a plural verb.
In edited writing the construction following neither is parallel to the one following nor: The great days of American political oratory are neither dead nor waning (not neither are dead nor waning). This sale sacrifices neither quality nor availability (not This sale neither sacrifices quality nor availability).
Although some usage guides say that neither may introduce a series of no more than two, it often is used to introduce a series of three or more: The head of that department is neither skillful nor well-prepared nor honest. See also either.

COLLAPSE

Pronunciation note
See either.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To neither

Example Sentences

From a scientist's perspective, the emergence of humanity as a global force of nature is neither good nor bad.

Neither had worked with this particular group of students before either.

Neither demand was realistic: the way ahead is too uncertain.

EXPAND

From a scientist's perspective, the emergence of humanity as a global force of nature is neither good nor bad.

Neither had worked with this particular group of students before either.

Neither demand was realistic: the way ahead is too uncertain.

Neither high-efficiency nor homemade detergent will cause your machine to foam over.

No such thing exists, neither in the smallest known quanta, nor the visible universe.

The march toward gender-specific clothes was neither linear nor rapid.

Neither the oaks nor the daffodils need any extra summer water.

It seems that the world has finally discovered that the traditional camera strap is neither comfortable nor practical.

Unfortunately, today such involvement is neither widespread nor growing.

Britain is neither an economic paradise nor a wasteland.

They can be male or female, but daddy long legs are neither spiders nor insects.

Neither one of my parents did this, nor any of my grandparants.

They grew up as the leftovers of an unpopular war, straddling two worlds but belonging to neither.

The best picnic is the one at which neither kids nor grown-ups are exhausted from cooking and cleaning up.

In my view, neither approach is worthy of your attention or money yet, but it is an interesting push into new territory.

Oglethorpe is neither highly ranked nor highly endowed.

The welfare bill is neither as objectionable as its critics depict it nor as uncontroversial as its supporters would have it.

The fishing spider needs neither rod nor reel to lure in tadpoles, fish, or frogs.

Gu is bedridden and can neither talk nor remember his children.

But wolves neither behave nor misbehave-they try to survive wherever they happen to be.

Milk was not the initial idea for this property, and neither was cheese.

But neither nation's forces have used small drones before.

But neither capture the complexity of what my teaching and intellectual life entails.

Neither man lived to see the idea tested-but it turned out to be right.

The new research suggests neither theory has it exactly right.

But neither of these theories has been proved, and what is more, neither is complete.

They are neither chameleons nor dragons, but are a type of lizard called an agamid.

Neither program was included in the original job transition estimate.

Neither she nor other senior administrators would discuss details of the.

The team found that their knock-out mice showed neither form of fear.

But neither he nor anyone else involved in the mission was taking success for granted.

But too much top-down interference into the marketplace makes trade neither free nor fair.

Although they were extremely intelligent, neither of the brothers graduated from high school.

Neither black interests nor anyone else's are served by making the president an exception.

In neither market have penetration rates yet exceeded a third of the population.

It's dustproof, so neither beach nor desert will damage it.

Neither you, nor anyone else has presented sufficient evidence to justify this expense.

He neither rose from poverty nor went off the deep end through drink or craziness.

It does not seem too concerned about authenticity, and neither do consumers.

Neither nuclear energy nor alternative sources such as wind and solar seem likely to meet the demand for electricity.

Not long ago a hard-and-fast rule held that neurons could neither divide nor emerge from elsewhere.

Neither did they find evidence consistent with the hypothesis that the animal had been born with this condition.

But neither is there any obvious sign of waning investor enthusiasm since then.

Thys suspects that neither of these two specimens in question is the largest ocean sunfish caught or to be caught in the future.

Neither appeared to receive the same kind of attention as the media frenzy that ensued from climategate last fall and winter.

In fact, it is neither an underdeveloped melon nor the freakish product of a mad scientist.

Neither exchange has so far managed to dispel the doubts.

Neither side had a soldier killed by enemy fire despite all the shot and shell filling the air.

Denying lifesaving treatments to the poor and elderly would be neither ethical nor politically popular.

It would seem that they do not since neither have placentas.

And then, on closer examination, it will emerge that neither of these is an exact model either.

He neither loves nor hates the city but could not live as happily anywhere else, he told me over dinner, and intends to die there.

Under such conditions neither mothers nor fathers can maintain a single cultural norm for long.

Among both kids and adults, neither region nor gender made much difference.

After all, capital markets there are neither deep nor liquid enough to absorb them.

However, neither virus then spread from person to person.

Nuclear power is neither affordable, safe or practical in solving our energy problems.

The case hinges on both legal contracts and programming codes, neither of them simple.

But neither existing theory has pinned down exactly where the materials would have come from.

But neither is big enough to explain why so much matter has survived.

Neither males nor females are monogamous, both mating with multiple members of the group.

It is clear that some of the money went to the wrong hands, but neither too much or too big a part of it was misapropiated.

Neither of these reasons explain why there is symmetry in a spiderweb.

Neither do many doctors, who warn that repeated exposure to radon may increase the risk of developing cancer.

Neither has the nature of their apparent link to lightning formation, about which many long-standing mysteries remain.

Kleijn's study revealed that neither birds nor plants seemed to benefit from these policies.

In this picture in particular, the sheep was neither afraid of me, nor my long camera lens.

Neither the infant nor the mother survived the procedure, and they were buried and naturally mummified together.

To have a good time no matter the age, neither the place, and nor the weather.

Neither soft nor frivolous, the humanities are research.

Neither did he pay much attention to its finely crafted cabinetry.

Neither heavy nor perfume-y, it gives the sorbet a delicate.

Solerwitz is by nature neither troublemaker nor rabble rouser.

Neither of these new political alliances is at all likely to be able to form a government.

When you're getting ready to dig, the soil should be neither too wet nor too dry: a handful squeezed in your fist should form a.

Motors may not have much to do with traditional surfing, but then neither do arm-flailing and sucking wind.

Short, scrawny and sickly, he suffered from a hypochondria that convinced him he would lead neither a long nor a healthy life.

Neither potential buyer would easily sell its clearing company.

Try as they might, neither twin can find a good male with which to settle down and have babies.

It doesn't bode well if you would rather sort socks than go out on a date or if neither of you can think of much to say.

Neither of these strategies are possible with a timer.

Neither side was entirely happy with the compromise, and both said they would review the ruling before deciding what to do next.

We accept that neither of these statements is true:.

There is also ice that appears neither white nor blue but rather brown and even black-darkened by a substance called cryoconite.

In yet another region a clump of dark matter sits alone, with neither galaxies nor gas.

Nothing in the picture indicates place or time, though, and neither really matters to understanding the image.

One needs neither to be especially good at arithmetic nor paranoid to.

But it is neither cautious nor transparent, qualities that investors are likely to prize in coming months.

But because it neither emits nor reflects light, its.

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in the world until unconditional life is granted to all its citizens.

Her father was a cabinetmaker who preferred to hunt for fossils, but neither occupation brought the family much money.

They taste good, and have a little heat, but neither is three-alarm hot.

Both men offer some good ideas, even if they're vague on details, but neither one says anything about how they'll pay for them.

Neither is it news that one or more states might authorize some community colleges to grant the baccalaureate.

Neither tactic has yielded the all-important vascular network needed to sustain thicker tissues.

But neither group wants to do it while wrecking the atmosphere.

Neither proposal is new, and both are certain to be controversial.

Trafigura says that neither report showed that it had dumped hazardous waste.

Savic, who is the lead author of both studies, cautioned that neither study proves people are born gay.

Neither team observed a positive effect from vitamin supplements.

Neither bill applies to privately-owned computers attached to the campus network in dorm rooms.

Neither of us is wedded to an image of himself at an elite, high-powered research university.

Shareholders neither need nor deserve any more privileges.

Maybe neither thing had anything to do with her book.

The specs themselves are neither shaming nor exciting.

It is ironic because neither can use their gift due to the sacrifices that they made to get the other's gift.

Neither report does anything to weaken the case for acting to limit carbon emissions.

It's neither change nor technology that threatens the integrity of the ethnosphere.

Sorry, but this unfortunately this graphic is neither clever nor outstanding.

My daughter was really little and my son was a baby, and neither of them wanted to sleep, so.

Obviously, neither polycarb nor ballistic nylon is the solution.

The biggest threat to personal computing is neither spam nor viruses.

But outing the naysayers would neither have brought comfort nor explained this peculiar aftermath.

Exxon, in contrast, is neither swapping shares nor violating any previous agreement.

There are neither the optical effects of varying focal lengths nor the full quality, since only part of the pixels have been used.

It's neither a yacht nor a pleasure cruiser, but a gun-gray warship.

Neither myself or immediate supervisor think this is worthwhile.

Both courses of action could unsettle the markets, and neither would be right.

The world beneath a jungle canopy is neither dim, nor gloomy, nor monochrome.

Neither is a glutton, unless it is in addition to their other interest.

Neither can traditional forms of genetic engineering.

Neither is there one in terms of a specific social science.

But then it changed its mind, saying that neither parliament nor the voters had had time to look at the small print.

Neither the patients nor the doctors knew which medication subjects took.

Sadly for me neither company offers one of these options today in a new vehicle.

Or, to put it another way, it is neither fish nor fowl.

Neither side has the luxury of deferring negotiations, since an absence of talks leads to radicalisation.

Some cowboys are religious but believe there is neither reason nor time to visit churches.

Neither group responded differently to salty tastes.

Neither publication had details on device specifications or pricing.

Neither of his parents graduated from elementary school, and he was the first of seven siblings to attend college.

Neither party denies that young offenders are a serious problem.

The two ironclads never fought again, and neither survived the year.

Orexins do not cause addiction or relapse directly, but neither happens without the peptides' participation.

It also demonstrates that aliens are neither paranormal nor supernatural.

Neither funding agencies nor peer reviewers nor conference audiences will always agree.

Germany promises neither to increase imports from nuclear neighbours nor to emit more greenhouse gases than planned.

Neither men nor women should wear shorts in churches.

Until the committee has hired someone, it means neither more nor less.

Neither stance resonates so well with the electorate today.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

neither (ˈnaɪðə, ˈniːðə)

—*determiner*
1.	a. not one nor the other (of two); not either: neither foot is swollen
	b. (as pronoun): neither can win

—*conj*
2.	(coordinating)
	a. (used preceding alternatives joined by nor) not: neither John nor Mary nor Joe went
	b. another word for nor

—*adv*
3.	not standard (sentence modifier) another word for either

usage A verb following a compound subject that uses neither… should be in the singular if both subjects are in the singular: neither Jack nor John has done the work

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

neither

O.E. nawþer, contraction of nahwæþer, lit. "not of two," from na "no" (see no) + hwæþer "which of two" (see whether). Spelling alt. c.1200 by association with either.

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Matching Quote

"He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

-unknown author

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neither

nei·ther