# Is there a single word that means "as long as it is not contradicted"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917 "2010-03-09T22:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Delayed\_Reflex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/delayed_reflex/32/3172_2.png) [@Delayed\_Reflex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delayed_Reflex)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/1 "2010-03-09T22:56:00Z")
Is there a single word in English that means “as long as it is not contradicted/opposed by” or “as long as it is not in conflict with”? Examples: “I’ll be at dinner tonight, \_\_\_\_\_\_ something coming up at work” or “The results of this study will be public, \_\_\_\_\_\_ any other preceding confidentiality agreements” I thought “[notwithstanding](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/notwithstanding)” was this word, but reading the definition it appears to be almost the opposite of what I thought it was! That is, if I’m reading it correctly, notwithstanding means that _even though_ there is something opposing it, the statement is true. I am looking for a word that means it is true _as long as there isn’t_ something opposing it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/2 "2010-03-09T23:01:09Z")
I looked up antonyms of “notwithstanding” and didn’t get anything. [Link.](http://www.antonym.com/antonym/notwithstanding) ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/3 "2010-03-09T23:02:35Z")
Barring? “I’ll be at dinner tonight, barring something coming up at work” or “The results of this study will be public, barring any other preceding confidentiality agreements” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/4 "2010-03-09T23:03:43Z")
“Barring” fits the examples. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/5 "2010-03-09T23:03:47Z")
I think the preposition “bar” does the trick here. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/6 "2010-03-09T23:09:37Z")
A metaphorical use of “barring” is almost precisely what you want, and is commonly used in such circumstances. “X is true barring Y occurring” means “If Y occurs, X no longer holds, but unless Y occurs, X holds true.” Reworking the phrasing to allow use of “unless” would also be a possibility. Directly on target but not the right part of speech for your question is “presumptively” – its meaning is “We set X to be true on a burden-of-proof issue; the onus is on those who contend X to be false, to disprove it, not on those who hold X to be true, to prove it.” In a court of law, the presumption of innocence means that the prosecution must affirmatively prove the guilt of the accused; he is deemed innocent until proven guilty. The assertions of an individual regarding his or her own affairs are normally rpesumed true unless good reason is provided to doubt them. In your example, “The results of the study will presumably be made public, barring any confidentiality agreements coming into play.” ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/7 "2010-03-09T23:18:37Z")
Some people I know are using “pending” in the sentences you list; they’d say “I’ll be at dinner tonight, pending something coming up at work” But that’s wrong and stupid. 🙂 Barring sounds like the best bet **unless** you want to re-arrange the sentence a little. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/8 "2010-03-09T23:25:35Z")
Excepting? ---
**Author:** ![Delayed\_Reflex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/delayed_reflex/32/3172_2.png) [@Delayed\_Reflex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delayed_Reflex)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/9 "2010-03-09T23:26:01Z")
Thanks all! I don’t know why I couldn’t think of “barring” before :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/10 "2010-03-09T23:44:48Z")
‘Absent’ also works. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/11 "2010-03-09T23:54:07Z")
**Unless** works if you re-word the sentences slightly. “I’ll be at dinner tonight, \_\_\_\_\_\_ something coming up at work” “I’ll be at dinner tonight, _unless something comes_ up at work” “The results of this study will be public, \_\_\_\_\_\_ any other preceding confidentiality agreements” “The results of this study will be public, \*unless there are \*preceding confidentiality agreements” ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/12 "2010-03-10T00:01:56Z")
Unless. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/13 "2010-03-10T00:30:02Z")
I like _ceteris paribus_ = “all else being equal.” Doesn’t even need a qualifying statement. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/14 "2010-03-10T01:16:18Z")
“Lord willing, and the creek don’t rise”? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/15 "2010-03-10T01:26:35Z")
Round here we say “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”. I’m not kidding, actually. ETA - Scooped! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/16 "2010-03-10T01:35:52Z")
[“Absent” as a preposition](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absent) (you didn’t know “absent” was a preposition, did you? neither did I) is also used in the same sense as “barring”. “Absent any strong objections, we’ll go to Pizza Hut for dinner”. [William Safire didn’t like it, though](http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/28/magazine/the-present-absent-on-language.html). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-single-word-that-means-as-long-as-it-is-not-contradicted/531917/17 "2010-03-10T02:27:12Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > [“Absent” as a preposition](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absent) (you didn’t know “absent” was a preposition, did you? neither did I) is also used in the same sense as “barring”. > > “Absent any strong objections, we’ll go to Pizza Hut for dinner”. > > [William Safire didn’t like it, though](http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/28/magazine/the-present-absent-on-language.html). For what it’s worth, I like it only in particular contexts – if the sentence can be written to logically mean “in the absence of”, then “absent” is perfectly, uh, cromulent. But it needs to be either physical absence or something strongly metaphorically tied to the physical, or you end up with the equivalent of “The death rate formula was deemed viable.” 🙂