to brought to nought
- idiom
- Archaic
:
reducido a nada
- Their efforts were brought to nought by the sudden storm.
Examples
-
Their plans for a spectacular event were brought to nought when the storm hit the city unexpectedly.
-
After months of negotiations, the merger was brought to nought by last-minute disagreements.
-
All their investments were brought to nought by the economic collapse.
-
Despite his determination, his efforts were brought to nought by unforeseen circumstances.
-
The team's victory was brought to nought by a last-minute penalty.
-
The team's hopes of winning the championship were brought to nought by a last-minute injury to their star player.
-
All their efforts to negotiate a peaceful solution were brought to nought by the sudden outbreak of hostilities.
Synonyms
12
6.8
To make something lose its effect or value
7
6.6
To be completely ruined and lose all value
6
4.6
Fail to produce any result
1
7.8
To make something have no effect or value
1
8.2
Not producing the result you want
Made no longer valid by law
Not legally valid and cannot be used in court
Completely destroyed so nothing is left
Antonyms
How Ineffective
- NSFW
63
7.5
- Archaic
87
3.5
39
5.6
305
2.8
61
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
bring + to + nought
The meaning is compositionally derivable: 'brought' (caused or put) + 'to' + 'nought' (nothing/zero) yields 'caused to become nothing' or nullified. Although 'nought' is somewhat literary/archaic, the 'bring/put X to Y' construction is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Brought to nought comes from the old word nought, which means 'zero'. Imagine a sandcastle washed away by waves until nothing is left, so it is brought to 'zero'. So the phrase means 'reduced to nothing' or 'made useless'.