sha'n't

UK/ˈʃɑːnt/US/ˈʃænt/

contraction

Dated spelling of shan't.

Meanings

contraction
  1. contractionDated spelling of shan't.

    [Alice:] I'm sure I sha'n't be able!

    1866, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 2, →ISBN, page 14
    2 more examples

    Bel[linda] […] Nay you ſha'n't go one ſtep out of the room. / […] Lady B[rute] Pray give me leave. / Lady Fanc[yfull] You know I won't. / Lady B. Indeed I muſt. / Lady Fanc. Indeed you ſha'n't. / Lady B. Indeed I will. / Lady Fanc. Indeed you ſha'n't. / Lady B. Indeed I will. / Lady Fanc. Indeed you ſha'n't. Indeed Indeed Indeed you ſha'n't. (Exit Lady Fanc. running. They follow.

    1697, [John Vanbrugh], The Provok'd Wife: A Comedy, as It is Acted at the New Theatre, in Little Lincolns-Inn-Fields, London: Printed by J. O. for R. Wellington, at the Lute in St. Paul's Church Yard, and Sam. Briscoe in Covent-Garden, →OCLC, act III, page 33

    That's not a threat, sir, for they have played fair with me, and I sha'n't sacrifice a penny of their money—unless they force me to do so. But—I'm in control. I'm sitting pretty. They can't unseat me, and I warn them not to try.

    1922, Rex [Ellingwood] Beach, “chapter XXIV”, in Flowing Gold, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, by arrangement with Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 290

Origin

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sha'n't

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

sha'n't. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sha'n't

MLA

“sha'n't.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sha'n't. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sha'n't,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sha'n't.

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