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can't

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can't

  • /kɑːnt/ General South African, UK, Southern England
  • [kʰɑːnt] General South African, UK, Southern England
  • /käːnt/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [ˈkʰäːnt] Australia, New Zealand
  • /kɐːnt/ Australia, New Zealand
  • [kʰɐ̞ːnt] Australia, New Zealand
  • /kaːɳʈ/ India
  • [kaːɳʈ] India
  • /kaːnt/
  • [kʰaːnt]
  • /kænt/
  • [kʰænt]
  • /keə̯nt/
  • [kʰeə̯nt]
  • /kɛə̯nt/
  • [kʰɛə̯nt]
  • /känt/ Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland
  • [k(ʰ)änt] Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland
  • /keɪnt/
  • [kʰẽɪ̯̃nt] ~ [kʰẽɪ̯̃n(ʔ)]

Sounds like cant, Kant (Received Pronunciation) · Rhymes with -ɑːnt, -ænt, -eɪnt

Where it comes from

From can + -n't, since 1706 or earlier.

verb ca'n't · cain't

  1. Cannot (negative modal auxiliary); be unable to; not have the ability to (whether due to lacking relevant strength or skill or knowledge or supplies, or due to logical impossibility, etc). I can’t quite get it to work.

    Opposite: be able to, can

  2. To be forbidden to; to be not permitted to. You can’t enter the hall without a ticket.

    Opposite: be able to, can, have to, must

  3. euphemistic, slang To be unwilling to; to not have the desire of; to don’t want to. Will you come to dinner with us tonight? Can't; already have plans this evening.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: cannot, can not, could not, forget it, cant, impossible, inadmissible, unobtainable, volatility, impossibility, inaccessible, forbidden fruit, unreachable, impassable, unattainable, irreconcilable

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MLA

"can't." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/can't. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

can't. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/can't

Chicago

"can't." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/can't.

BibTeX
@misc{can_t_2026,
  title = {can't},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/can't},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}