oughtnt

Oughtnt is the contracted form of the negative expression ought not, a modal construction in English. The standard spellings are ought not and oughtn’t, with the contraction appearing mainly in British English and in older or more literary writing. It expresses a sense of advisability, obligation, or expectation that something should not be done. In contemporary American English, the contraction is much less common, with should not or must not often preferred.

Usage notes include the positive form ought to, as in You ought to see a doctor, and its negative counterpart, You ought not to / You oughtn't to see a doctor. The contraction tends to appear before a following verb, as in You oughtn’t to go, and may be avoided in formal writing where ought not to is used in full. In questions, one can say What ought we to do? while contractions are rarely used in question forms.

Pronunciation of oughtn’t blends the stem of ought with the final nt cluster; in rapid speech it can sound like awt-nt. Spelling variants include ought not, oughtn’t, and occasionally oughtn’t to depending on typographic conventions. The form is often characterized as more archaic or formal than the more common should not in modern usage, and its frequency varies by genre and region.

See also should, must, need to. The contraction reflects a broader category of English modals that mark obligation or advisability, with nuanced shades between moral duty and practical recommendation.