Shouldn't

/[ˈʃʊnʔ]/ noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Something that should not be done. informal

    "Being a list-o-maniac, I suggested we make a list of the "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts." So in the darkness of hazy sleep, I began to mentally prepare mine. The first item on the "should" side was easy: a sibling for our 3-year-old daughter."

Verb
  1. 1
    Should not (negative auxiliary)

    "I shouldn't be telling you all this. It'll make you angry."

Synonyms

All synonyms
oughtn'tshould

Antonyms

All antonyms
should

Example

More examples

"You shouldn't do things by halves."

Etymology

From should + -n't.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.