Dictionary formnolo, nolle, nolui

Line drawing of nolo
Coloured illustration of nolo
#900 of 1,000Core 1000

Translation

be unwilling, not want; refuse

Test yourself on nolo

Three quick questions. No account needed.

Know this word? Create a free account to track it.

Examples

, .

Do not be afraid, my friend.

.

I do not want to wage war.

.

The king refused to come.

iudicare .

Do not judge other people's affairs.

, .

If you do not wish it, neither do I.

Nolo, nolle, nolui is irregular, contracted from non volo, and it inherits volo's oddities plus a few of its own. The present runs nolo, non vis, non vult, nolumus, non vultis, nolunt: the second person forms refuse to contract and stay as two words, which looks like a printing error but is not. There is no supine and no future participle.

Its single most useful job is the negative command. Latin does not put non in front of an imperative; it says noli plus the infinitive for one person and nolite for several. Noli timere, nolite flere. If you learn nothing else about this verb, learn that, because it is the form you will meet on every page of the Vulgate. Nolo takes a complementary infinitive, or an accusative and infinitive when the subject changes.

Where this fits

Used in

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Chapters 1 and 2 free

Meet this word in a story

Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.

Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.

Start learning free

Latin 路 Free printables

nolo: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "nolo" (be unwilling, not want; refuse): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is taught in chapter 9, lesson 12: nolo, adduco, nuper and 7 more words.