under no circumstances
20
4.2
- idiom
- Formal
:
bajo ninguna circunstancia
- Under no circumstances should you share your password with anyone.
But there are some people that under no circumstances can you do.
- But there are some people that under no circumstances can you do.
Examples
-
Under no circumstances will the troops harm innocent people, let alone young students.
Academic text (1990) -
- Under no circumstances are you to release it.
-
But remember, under no circumstances let her know that we're friends.
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And under no circumstances do we create or cause a scene.
-
You are, under no circumstances, to go anywhere near that gala tomorrow night.
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Under no circumstances are you to contact her.
-
Under no circumstances is he invited into our house, all right?
-
And under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space.
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Under no circumstances should there be any communication until the team has left.
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Under no circumstances do you leave this cabin tonight.
Synonyms
3
5.6
It is not true or possible in any way
1
6.7
To never do something, no matter what happens
1
7.9
Refuse to do something no matter what happens
Say it to show you will never do something
How Permitted
Surface Forms
Morphology
under + no + circumstance
The phrase literally combines 'under' (in the state of), 'no' (not any), and 'circumstance' (situation), yielding the clear meaning 'in no situation' / 'never'. This compositional structure is common across many languages (e.g. Spanish 'en ninguna circunstancia', German 'unter keinen Umständen') and follows standard negation patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Under no circumstances comes from the image of a rule put under every case, with no exceptions in any circumstances, like a lid that keeps something firmly closed. That's why it means 'must never happen'.