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What nuance does "ことなく" have?

If we compare the following two sentences:

(For example, at a footrace:)

最後まで、あきらめ **ないで** 走ります！  
vs  
最後まで、あきらめる **ことなく** 、走ります！

Is ことなく stronger than simply saying ないで? Does ことなく show will and volition
**more** than the ないで version?
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2011-08-15T10:57:19.530
2655
2011-12-29T05:57:12.503
2011-12-29T05:57:12.503
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question
grammar formal-nouns
The nuance of ことなく compared with ないで
I think both conveys the same meaning. ことなく is though a bit more formal. For
example, you'd be a bit surprised if a 10 year old would say ことなく, whereas ないで
would be very common.

However, ことなく can be used in colloquial usage, especially if you are using 敬語.
Even when you are talking in non 敬語, you can still use it.

To summarize, ことなく is a tiny bit more formal than ないで.
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2011-08-15T13:09:53.403
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2011-08-15T13:09:53.403
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answer
They mean the same thing, but my book says that `ことなく` shouldn't be used for
"everyday/habitual actions". Ex.

> × うっかりして、切手をはる **ことなく** ポストに入れてしまった。  
>  ○ うっかりして、切手をはらないでポストに入れてしまった。
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-15T14:29:17.143
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2011-08-15T14:29:17.143
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answer