mightn't

UK/ˈmaɪtn̩t/UK[ˈmaɪʔn̩ʔ]

verb

might not (negative auxiliary)

OriginEnglish n't →
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Meanings

verb
  1. UKarchaicmight not (negative auxiliary)

    "But at night she would still think the same thing: mightn't it be that he wouldn't come to see her anymore?"

    1974, Mario Vargas Llosa, Conversation in the Cathedral: A Novel, Harper & Row (First Rayo Edition, 2005), page 275
    2 more examples

    Her driver was new to the country; he mightn't be prepared for the leaping of the yellow water down dry arroyos, swift as the pouncings of a cat, or the snake-like slidings of tons of loosened rock and clay from the steep potreros […]

    1931, Mary Hunter Austin, Starry Adventure, page 274

    “But, mightn’t there have been something unusual about the Stimatis contract itself?” [Perry Mason cross-examining Roger Correll.]

    1963, Perry Mason, The Case of the Greek Goddess (Television Season 6, Episode 25)

Origin

  1. Englishmight
  2. Englishnot
  3. Englishn't
  4. Englishmightn't

From might + n't.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mightn't. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mightn't

MLA

“mightn't.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mightn't. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mightn't,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mightn't.

Source: mightn't on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.