What it means
ずとも expresses the concessive meaning “even without doing.” It attaches to the negative stem of a verb and presents the omitted action as unnecessary for the result in the main clause. This form is formal and is especially common in written, academic, official, and literary language; everyday speech normally uses なくても instead.
Usage note
ずとも is not a polite counterpart of a separate plain form; it remains unchanged when the surrounding sentence is polite. With する, the form is せずとも, and with 来る, it is 来ずとも.
Example sentences
この手順書を読めば、担当者に問い合わせずとも、初期設定を完了できる。
If you read this instruction manual, you can complete the initial setup even without contacting the person in charge.
図書館へ足を運ばずとも、大学のデータベースから貴重な文献を閲覧できる。
Even without going to the library, one can access valuable documents from the university database.