wont

«wont» in Mova's school dictionary: wont to do something, they usually do it; it is their habit — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (wont — formal, old-fashioned); adjective (be wont to — formal, old-fashioned)

meaning for a pupil

1) (formal, old-fashioned) If someone is wont to do something, they usually do it; it is their habit. tree →

2) (formal, old-fashioned) «As is his wont» means as he usually does. tree →

3) Without an apostrophe, «wont» is also a common misspelling of «won't» (will not). tree →

sense in the lessons

It appears in old books, stories and very formal writing: «as was her wont, Granny took a walk after tea». In everyday life people say «usually» or «as always». In text messages people often type «wont» when they mean «won't», which is a spelling mistake in school writing.

examples

• As was his wont, Grandad fell asleep after lunch. (old-fashioned) tree →
• She was wont to sing while she cooked. tree →
• The old cat was wont to sleep by the fire. tree →
• As is her wont, the teacher arrived early. tree →
• «I won't go» — not «I wont go». tree →
• He was wont to walk five miles each morning. tree →
• Woe was drowned, and the merchant began to live again as he had been wont to do of old. tree →

note

Say it like «won't» (in the UK, also «wunt»). It is rare and formal. The big trap: «won't» (will not) needs an apostrophe; «wont» means habit. «Wonted» means usual.

In the corpora

• and to them that were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
• Turn Thee towards me, and be gracious unto me, as is Thy wont to do unto those that love Thy name.
• Hear my voice according unto Thy lovingkindness; quicken me, O LORD, as Thou art wont.
• Great are Thy compassions, O LORD; quicken me as Thou art wont.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «wont» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.