nothing means completely unimportant. It carries an Arena rating of 1530, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, nothing ranks #894 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #1,421 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #4,419 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #4,808 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
nothing is pronounced /ˈnʌθɪŋ/.
Why “nothing” is a great word
Completely unimportant or lacking any consequence. From Middle English *nothyng*, from Old English *nāþing*, *nān þing* (literally 'not any thing'), equivalent to 'no' + 'thing'. Unlike *anything* (which retains the faintest possibility of substance) or *cipher* (which denotes a specific, often contemptible, insignificance), *nothing* as an adjective denies consequence entirely. It is the forgotten pebble skipped across a pond, the comment swallowed by surrounding noise, the meeting that might as well have never occurred—the quiet, absolute verdict that some events pass through the world and enter a space without echo, where consequence goes to dissolve.
Etymology
From Middle English nothyng, noon thing, non thing, na þing, nan thing, nan þing, from Old English nāþing, nān þing (“nothing”, literally “not any thing”), equivalent to no + thing. Compare Old English nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “no thing”), Swedish ingenting (“nothing”, literally “not any thing, no thing”).
adj
- Completely unimportant.e.g.“Dallas scored on what had seemed until then like a nothing play.”
- Lacking effort or commitment.e.g.“The cricketer played a nothing shot.”
adv
- Not at all; in no way.e.g.“Nothing too much out of the ordinary.”
intj
- Never mind; it's not important; forget what I said.
noun
- Something trifling, or of no consequence or importance.e.g.“- What happened to your face?
- It's nothing.”
- A trivial remark especially in the term sweet nothings.
- A nobody (insignificant person).
pron
- Not any thing; no thing.e.g.“Don't just say nothing. Tell me what's going on.”
- An absence of anything, including empty space, brightness, darkness, matter, or a vacuum.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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