A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- NamesakeIn the U.S., it's either something named after someone or someone after whom something is named. In British English, it's someone who shares a name with someone else.
- Nary anot one.
- Naught vs. noughtNought: zero. Naught: nothing.
- Nauseating vs. nauseousNauseous now means experiencing nausea.
- Naval vs. navelNaval: having to do with ships, shipping, and the navy. Navel: 1. the belly button; 2. a navel orange.
- Neandertal vs. neanderthalNeanderthal is the more common spelling, in and out of science.
- Nebbisha weak-willed or feckless person.
- Neck and neckso close that the leader is indeterminable.
- Negative prefixes
- Neighbor vs. neighbourneighbor in the U.S.; neighbour everywhere else.
- Newfanglednew and perhaps needlessly modern.
- Nimby, nimbyismsomeone who objects to having something in his or her own neighborhood but doesn't necessarily object to it elsewhere.
- NimrodTraditionally, a nimrod is a tyrant or a hunter. But in recent U.S. usage, a nimrod is a foolish person.
- Nip in the budto stop a potential problem before it develops.
- No one vs. noone (vs. no-one)The hyphenated form is somewhat common outside North America, but the two-word, unhyphenated form prevails everywhere.
- Non sequitura statement that doesn't logically follow what preceded it.
- Nonfinite verbs
- Nonplussed1. at a loss of what to think; 2. bewildered.
- Nonprofit vs. not-for-profit (vs. non-profit)nonprofit in North America; non-profit outside North America; not-for-profit increasingly everywhere.
- Normalcy vs. normalityThey are variants of each other, though normalcy is considered inferior.
- Not hardlyIt means the same as hardly.
- Not un-It sometimes bears removal, but it can also be useful.
- Notwithstandingin spite of.
- Nouns
- Nouns as adjectives
- Numerals
- NunchucksIn 21st-century English, it is preferred over the many alternatives.
