How to Use nay in a Sentence

nay

noun
  • Vice President Mike Pence: On this vote, the ayes are 50 and the nays are 50.
    WSJ, 12 Feb. 2017
  • And thank you to all the senators for not asking for the yeas and nays.
    NBC News, 29 Jan. 2020
  • The vote is in and the nay-sayers appear to be out-numbered.
    Linda Gandee, cleveland, 20 June 2022
  • The score was 3-1 in favor of the nays on the health of four players of pressing concern.
    Craig Davis, Sun-Sentinel.com, 8 May 2017
  • The legislation was passed on a calling of the yeas and nays rather than a roll call vote.
    Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2019
  • The mere mention of restaurant dress codes can unleash a torrent of yeas and nays.
    Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 24 July 2019
  • The bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan basis with 67 yeas to 28 nays.
    Grace Segers, CBS News, 2 Aug. 2019
  • That’s far above the 5 percent of nays cast on pay at the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index during the same year.
    Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times, 27 May 2016
  • But, when the yeas and nays were called, all but three of them heeded their inner Pelosis and voted to impeach.
    Deroy Murdock, National Review, 22 Dec. 2019
  • The nay was made from thick reeds that grew wild in the region stretching from Ancient Egypt to Mesopotamia – at the heart of which lies modern-day Jordan.
    Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2018
  • The duo is also dressed in matching iridescent corsets shaped like seashells that add to the under-the-sea scenery — nay, seanery.
    Jennet Jusu, Allure, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Emphasize the positive and chase away nay-saying demons.
    Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Dec. 2021
  • Every family — nay, every person — probably has some opinion on the best time to dig into the feast.
    Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2022
  • And, on Wednesday evening, Rep. Thomas Massie exercised his prerogative to stand apart from his colleagues by voting nay.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 19 May 2022
  • Keep your eyes peeled for cult-favorite Nordstrom pieces as well, like those Zella leggings with hundreds—nay, thousands—of five-star reviews—and the $44 bra with a loyal celeb following.
    Talia Abbas, Glamour, 29 Nov. 2021
  • The yeas and nays are required under Senate Resolution 483.
    NBC News, 3 Feb. 2020
  • Yea or nay:Who is for, against Cincinnati’s affordable housing charter amendment?
    Hannah K. Sparling, The Enquirer, 22 Apr. 2021
  • Unique among series-production vehicles, Rolls-Royces feature—nay, are built around—classic coach doors, even on two-door models like Wraith.
    Dan Neil, WSJ, 30 Sep. 2020
  • Evidently that turned some of the ayes heard by the Senate president into nays, because the proposal was defeated, 21 to 17.
    Patricia Mazzei, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2018
  • These votes were surprise, surprise, split along party lines with Republicans voting yea and Democrats voting nay.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 21 May 2021
  • Initially, the Hall of Fame tasked its regular selection committee with voting yay or nay on the entire 15-person class.
    Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 19 Dec. 2019
  • May an interested voter inquire as to what has become of any sort of contract, nay, contact, with America?
    WSJ, 6 Sep. 2022
  • But there is something deeper to my ongoing attraction—nay, obsession—with this show.
    Vogue Runway, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2022
  • The amendment was voted down, but received 35 yea votes to 50 nays — a ratio that advocates considered to be a victory, however small.
    Emily Hopkins, Indianapolis Star, 11 Feb. 2018
  • Votes on March 22-23 in the Senate that drew Democratic nays were procedural in nature and were not a vote on the package itself, which was still being drafted – no formal bill existed.
    Katie Wadington, USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2020
  • Lamar Jackson is clearing — nay, deodorizing — the air over his temporary departure from the field during Monday night's game.
    Jen Juneau, PEOPLE.com, 15 Dec. 2020
  • Whether Hey or nay, responding to emails in batches is far better than in a continuous stream of low-level productivity between nine and five.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2021
  • Student trustee Malinalli Villalobos joined him in voting nay, but the student role is advisory without a vote that counts toward the outcome.
    Gwendolyn Wu, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 May 2022
  • Hummer EV is a bonkers machine that can help convert electric vehicle nay-sayers into believers.
    Matt Crisara, Popular Mechanics, 15 Nov. 2022
  • The group of eight nays cuts across the political spectrum -- from conservative Republicans to moderates.
    Chad Pergram, Fox News, 28 June 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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