I once heard someone talking about an italian word that not only means “no” but more. It means something along the lines of “that couldn’t be further from the truth.” All I remember was that it looked like the french word “ainsi.” So it could be “ansi” or maybe the same spelling as the French word.
Thanks…
The word you’re looking for is “anzi.” I would translate it as “to the contrary.”
(aside) Is it cognate with French ‘ainsi’ (‘thus’) ? Seems almost like an antonym. Just out of interest.
French etymology of ainsi:
http://atilf.atilf.fr/dendien/scripts/fast.exe?mot=ainsi
(See bottom of page)
Italian etymology of anzi:
http://www.etimo.it/?term=anzi&find=Cerca
From Latin antes, “before”