What is the correct form? Does context play a role?
Are there noticeable trends towards the awkward "noone" or is it just a by-product of careless orthography on the Internet?
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5No-one cares. Haha, sorry, I just had to. I obviously care since I came here looking for the answer. There are conflicting answers on several grammar sites though. Maybe I should call Sister Dorothy, my sixth grade english teacher :) – Oct 21 '13 at 16:26
2 Answers
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"no one" is the correct one.
noone is the common misspelling of "no one".
"Noone" is formed for consistency with "nobody", and also its opposites "anyone" and "everyone", but it is still considered nonstandard because of the doubled vowels creating a temptation to read and pronounce it as "noon" (/nuːn/).
On the other hand, no-one is the alternative spelling of "no one". I don't think it's widely used.
Mehper C. Palavuzlar
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15Correction:
no-oneis quite widely used within British English.nooneis indeed wrong. – Noldorin Jan 13 '11 at 23:25 -
I agree with @Noldorin. Though "no-one"is not particularly good-looking either, I don't use "no one", because it feels very much like one word, and because of slight confusion in sentences like "no one word could express this" (though perhaps you would use "single" in this example). Besides, I think "nobody" often replaces it at any rate. – Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Jan 14 '11 at 00:09
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2@Noldorin: Mostly in my experience, the British use
no one. Though I have seen all three aplenty. – Orbling Jan 14 '11 at 00:17 -
@Orbling: I see both quite a lot to be honest. Don't ask for statistics though. :) – Noldorin Jan 14 '11 at 01:09
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2And yeah. Personally, I prefer
no-onesince it suggests that it's one (compound word), as it really is. – Noldorin Jan 14 '11 at 01:10 -
I find myself often mistaking
noonefornoonand notno one. That said, yeah it's not a word anyway. – BoltClock Jan 14 '11 at 01:11 -
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2@Jon Purdy: Haha, I love it. There should be more diaereses in English! – Noldorin Jan 15 '11 at 21:28
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I am British and I typically use no-one and 'no one' interchangeably. – deed02392 Apr 02 '19 at 21:46
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I have seen all three types used. I use either noone or no one and they are all accepted. I never use no-one because it just doesn't flow right for me.
Ktoi
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5Welcome to EL&U. Please note that this is not a discussion forum, but a Q&A site, and your answer could be improved with references or examples that demonstrate the acceptance beyond personal anecdote. I encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for a better understanding of our format and conventions. – choster Feb 13 '15 at 18:08
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2The usage of 'noone' in literature does not support this claim. 'No one' is definitely the correct usage: http://i.imgur.com/gobhv18.jpg – Lemmings19 Feb 03 '16 at 05:09