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never mind

never mind

224 2.7
Telling someone not to worry and to forget what you said
  • idiom
: no importa
  • OK, never mind, I was wrong again.

So I was like never mind, never mind.

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Examples

  • Never mind that.

  • Just forget it, never mind about my mistakes.

  • Never mind where we are.

  • For your information, sir, our fines are now up to three thousand credits. "Never mind that," he said.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • "The neighbors," he said, "scarcely have room for themselves, never mind anyone else."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We're quits as far as I'm concerned; never mind him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • And they'll say, well, because, Oh no, never mind, that wouldn't work.

  • Never mind.

  • We barely have time for lunch, never mind planning a party.

  • Don't worry about the noise; it's just the wind, never mind it.

Synonyms

no biggie
vsnever mind
  • Informal
13 8.5

Not a serious problem you need to worry about

means to tell someone to disregard or stop worrying, not just label it minor
to scratch that
vsnever mind
  • Informal
11 7.7

Tell people to ignore what you just said

asks to disregard or stop worrying rather than cancel what was said
no worries
vsnever mind
  • Informal
2 6.6

A friendly reply that tells someone there is no problem

asks the listener to disregard or stop worrying rather than simply reassure
never you mind
vsnever mind
  • Informal
8.9

Tell someone not to worry about something

is the more common modern form used in everyday speech

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

To feel nervous or afraid about possible problems

To focus on someone or something and notice carefully

How Indifferent

whatevs
  • Slang
1 9.9
Queen Anne's dead
  • Archaic
9.9
bye-bye
  • Informal
279 1.1
never mind
224 2.7

Surface Forms

never mind main

Morphology

never + mind

The meaning 'used to tell someone not to worry or to disregard something' follows directly from combining 'never' (not ever) with 'mind' (give attention or concern) — i.e., 'never pay attention' or 'do not be concerned'. This compositional interjection is common and has clear equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Never mind comes from a simple idea: the words never and mind tell someone not to think about or worry about something. So we use never mind today to mean 'don't worry' or 'forget it'.