(nôr; nər when unstressed)
conjunction And not; or not; not either: has neither phoned nor written us; life forms that are neither plants nor animals.
Usage Note: When using
neither in a balanced construction that negates two parts of a sentence,
nor (not
or) must be used in the second clause:
She is neither able nor (not or) willing to go. Similarly, when negating the second of two negative independent clauses,
nor (not
or) must be used:
He cannot find anyone now, nor does he expect to find anyone in the future; Jane will never compromise with Bill, nor will Bill compromise with Jane. Note that in these constructions,
nor causes an inversion of the auxiliary verb and the subject (
does he … will Bill …). However, when a verb is negated by
not or
never, and is followed by a verb phrase that is also to be negated (but not an entire clause), either
or or
nor can be used:
He will not permit the change, or (or nor) even consider it. In noun phrases of the type
no this or that, or is actually more common than
nor: He has no experience or interest (less frequently nor interest) in chemistry. Or is also more common than
nor when such a noun phrase, adjective phrase, or adverb phrase is introduced by
not:
He is not a philosopher or a statesman. They were not rich or happy. See Usage Notes at
neither,
or1.