almost en · ADV
Pronunciation
- [ˈɒɫmoʊst] (Canada)
- /ɔːlˈməʊst/ (UK) emphatic, utterance-final
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈoʊ.moʊst/ (US)
- /əʉməʉst/ (Australia)
- /ˈɔː(l)məs/ colloquial, unaccented
- (US) audio
- [ˈoːwməʉst] (Australia)
- /ˈɑl.moʊst/ (US)
- /ˈoːlməʉst/ (Australia)
- [ˈoːɫməʉst] (Australia)
- /ˈɔːl.məʊst/ (UK)
- /ˈɔl.moʊst/ (US)
- (US) audio Inland North
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-Germanic *ala- Proto-West Germanic *ala- Old English æl- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *maiz Proto-Germanic *maistaz Proto-Germanic *maist Proto-West Germanic *maist Old English mǣst Old English eallmǣst Middle English almost English almost From Middle English almost, from Old English eallmǣst (“nearly all, almost, for the most part”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + most.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Very close to, but not quite.
Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:Almost all people went there.
We almost missed the train.
This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra-wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.
2013 May 17, George Monbiot, “Money just makes the rich suffer”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 23, page 19:Nobody, or almost, noticed anything unusual.
Eustace gaped at him in amazement. When his urbanity dropped away from him, as now, he had an innocence of expression which was almost infantile. It was as if the world had never touched him at all.
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter IX, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:For some odd reason, Sherin has chosen to direct the play as a comedy — at times almost a farce.
1976 December 25, Robert Chesley, “New York's "Nightingale" Does No Justice to Williams' Play”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 26, page 20:
-
(not-comparable) Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined).
almost no
almost all
-
(not-comparable) Up to, except for a negligible set (where negligible is not universally but contextually defined). ▸ Up to a null set; except for a set of measure 0.
almost sure
almost nowhere
almost everywhere
almost certain
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| aulmos | Jamaica, alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
very · somewhat · slightly · mostly
Deriveds
almost all · almost everywhere · almost surely · almost fall off one's chair · almost Dedekind domain · almost doesn't count · almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades · almostness · almost fall of one's chair · almost prime · almost standards mode · almost split sequence
Hypernyms
Relateds
Synonyms
near (very close to, but not quite) · not (very close to, but not quite) · nighwhat · well-nigh (very close to, but not quite) · virtually (very close to, but not quite) · environ · next to (very close to, but not quite) · nearly (very close to, but not quite) · almost · nigh on · as good as · tantamount to · nigh (very close to, but not quite) · all but · close to (very close to, but not quite) · not quite · more or less · not yet (very close to, but not quite) · just about · fornigh · near as damn it · pretty much · practically (very close to, but not quite) · as near as makes no difference
Translations (207)
az az qala (very close to) · pt quase (very close to) · ar كَادَ (very close to) · cs téměř (very close to) · da næsten (very close to) · it quasi (very close to) · la paene (very close to) · mk безмалку (very close to) · prs تَقْرِیباً (very close to) · oc quasiben (very close to) · vi gần (very close to) · fy hast (very close to) · ast cuasi (very close to) · qu yaqa (very close to) · de beinahe (very close to) · km ស្ទើរតែ (very close to) · ale hizax (very close to) · hy գրեթե ((measure theory, probability theory)) · fa-ira قَریب (very close to) · ca gairebé (very close to) · oc quasi (very close to) · af byna (very close to) · fo næstan (very close to) · bg почти́ ((mathematics)) · fi lähes ((measure theory, probability theory)) · dsb skóro (very close to) · fr presque (very close to) · ur لَگ بَھگ (very close to) · unm kayahti (very close to) · hu majdnem (very close to) · cmn 差點 /差点 (very close to) · da være lige ved at (very close to) · ru почти́ (very close to) · hy գրեթե (very close to) · vi gần như (very close to) · mn бараг (very close to) · es por poco (very close to) · ja 大方 (very close to) · mi kainamu (very close to) · sco maistly (very close to) · et peaaegu (very close to) · ky дээрлик (very close to) · fi lähes ((mathematics)) · fi melkein ((mathematics)) · cs skoro (very close to) · pl prawie ((measure theory, probability theory)) · non nær svá (very close to) · is næstum (very close to) · pdt afens (very close to) · ain ナアニフンコ (very close to) · tr neredeyse (very close to) · ro era să (very close to) · ga beagnach (very close to) · nl bijna (very close to) · de so gut wie (very close to) · ain ナアニ (very close to) · nl zo goed als (very close to) · pl omal (very close to) · izh melkeen (very close to) · nb bortimot (very close to) · uk сливе́ (very close to) · ltg gondreiž (very close to) · grc ὀλίγου δεῖν (very close to) · id nyaris (very close to) · gl case (very close to) · es casi (very close to) · pl niemal ((mathematics)) · io preske (very close to) · ain ナアニポ (very close to) · de fast (very close to) · mi pitoiti (very close to) · mn мөлтөс (very close to) · ast casi (very close to) · mt kważi (very close to) · pl prawie (very close to) · tpi klosap (very close to) · ka თითქმის (very close to) · ang fulnēah (very close to) · fa-ira تَقْریباً (very close to) · mi tōtahi (very close to) · mk скоро (very close to) · lt beveik (very close to) · de fast ((mathematics)) · hu közel (very close to) · sco amaist (very close to) · grc ὀλίγου (very close to) · cmn 幾乎 /几乎 (very close to) · da nærved (very close to) · ja ほぼ (very close to) · chy tó'ease- (very close to) · ur تَقْرِیباً (very close to) · sco awmaist (very close to) · sv närapå (very close to) · ko 뻔하다 (very close to) · la ferē (very close to) · mwl quaije (very close to) · de fast ((measure theory, probability theory)) · fr quasiment (very close to) · bg почти́ (very close to) · tyz ái (very close to) · fi miltei ((measure theory, probability theory)) · fi miltei ((mathematics)) · fi miltei (very close to) · mi tata (very close to) · pl prawie ((mathematics)) · br hogozik (very close to) · bo ཧ་ལམ (very close to) · hi प्रायः (very close to) · kmr teqrîben (very close to) · kl -ngajak (very close to) · sa नोद् (very close to) · kk дерлік (very close to) · nl nagenoeg (very close to) · nn bortimot (very close to) · ko 거의 (very close to) · fi liki (very close to) · ca quasi (very close to) · ext cuasi (very close to) · kmr hema-hema (very close to) · pl blisko (very close to) · ar تَقْرِيبًا (very close to) · nl vrijwel (very close to) · sv nästan (very close to) · sk skoro (very close to) · grc σχεδόν (very close to) · ps تقريباً (very close to) · ja ほとんど (very close to) · tg тақрибан (very close to) · sq pothuajse (very close to) · he כִּמְעַט (very close to) · uz qariyb (very close to) · hy գրեթե ((mathematics)) · uk ма́йже (very close to) · cmn 差不多 (very close to) · cy bron (very close to) · cmn 差一點 /差一点 (very close to) · nv kʼasdą́ą́ʼ (very close to) · sk takmer (very close to) · ga dóbair (very close to) · km ជិត (very close to) · lv gandrīz (very close to) · ar عَلَى وَشْك (very close to) · mi pitopitoiti (very close to) · mn шахам (very close to) · hi लगभग (very close to) · be ама́ль (very close to) · mk речиси (very close to) · nb nesten (very close to) · yi כּמעט (very close to) · eo preskaŭ (very close to) · eu ia (very close to) · fi liki ((mathematics)) · id hampir (very close to) · an quasi (very close to) · nn nesten (very close to) · fi melkein (very close to) · nv kʼadę́ę (very close to) · fi lähes (very close to) · mg saiky (very close to) · jam aalmos (very close to) · bn প্রায় (very close to) · ltg kuoni (very close to) · sc cante (very close to) · kmr nêzîkî (very close to) · th เกือบ (very close to) · hy համարյա (very close to) · sco maistlins (very close to) · non mjǫk (very close to) · af amper (very close to) · br hogos (very close to) · sl skôraj (very close to) · pl niemal ((measure theory, probability theory)) · prs قَرِیب (very close to) · fi liki ((measure theory, probability theory)) · ext abati (very close to) · tg қариб (very close to) · sh skòro (very close to) · hi प्राय (very close to) · vi hầu như (very close to) · ru почти́ что (very close to) · pdt knaup (very close to) · el σχεδόν (very close to) · el παραλίγο (very close to) · te దాదాపు (very close to) · sh ско̀ро (very close to) · si බොහෝ දුරට (very close to) · az az qaldı (very close to) · bg почти́ ((measure theory, probability theory)) · fi melkein ((measure theory, probability theory)) · te దరిదాపు (very close to) · ka ლამის (very close to) · pl bez mała (very close to) · bo ཕལ་ཆེར (very close to) · lo ເກືອບ (very close to) · pl niemalże (very close to) · my လုနီးပါး (very close to) · oc quasiment (very close to) · pl niemal (very close to) · gsw schier (very close to) · is næstum því (very close to) · sq gati (very close to) · be няма́ль (very close to) · uz taqriban (very close to) · hi तक़रीबन (very close to) · uz deyarli (very close to) · ro aproape (very close to) · oc gaireben (very close to)