Dictionary

anything en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈɛn.i.θiŋ/ Upper Midwestern US, Western US, Canada, pre-/ŋ/ tensing
• /ˈæn.i.θɪŋ/ (Ireland)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɪ̟n.i.θɪŋ/ (pin-pen-merger)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈen.i.θɪ̝ŋ/ (Australia)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɛn.ɪ.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Indo-European *h₁oy-no-kós Proto-Germanic *ainagaz Proto-West Germanic *ainag Old English ǣniġ Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Old English aniþing Middle English anything English anything From Middle English anything, enything, onything, from Late Old English aniþing, from earlier ǣniġ þing (literally “any thing”), equivalent to any + thing.

Meanings

1. Someone or something of importance.
   • So we tried not to talk about first or second anythings until our meeting with the rabbi. 2007 May 6, Cindy Chupack, “An Ancient Coda to My 21st-Century Divorce”, in New York Times:
   • How long does it take to turn you actors into good anythings? 1986, David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly:

Forms

Relateds

anywhere · thing · everything · anybody · something · nothing · anyone

Translations (17)

sv vilket som helst (someone or something) · ro cineva (someone or something) · ro ceva (someone or something) · ja 何でも (someone or something) · el οτιδήποτε (someone or something) · la quisquam (someone or something) · mt kwalunkwe ħaġa (someone or something) · yi עפּעס (someone or something) · fi mikä tahansa (someone or something) · gd càil (someone or something) · sv vilken som helst (someone or something) · sl karkoli (someone or something) · sv vad som helst (someone or something) · gd dad (someone or something) · sv något (someone or something) · pt qualquer coisa (someone or something) · amu makjo (someone or something)

anything en · PRON · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈɛn.i.θiŋ/ Upper Midwestern US, Western US, Canada, pre-/ŋ/ tensing
• /ˈæn.i.θɪŋ/ (Ireland)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɪ̟n.i.θɪŋ/ (pin-pen-merger)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈen.i.θɪ̝ŋ/ (Australia)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɛn.ɪ.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Indo-European *h₁oy-no-kós Proto-Germanic *ainagaz Proto-West Germanic *ainag Old English ǣniġ Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Old English aniþing Middle English anything English anything From Middle English anything, enything, onything, from Late Old English aniþing, from earlier ǣniġ þing (literally “any thing”), equivalent to any + thing.

Meanings

1. Any object, act, state, event, or fact whatsoever; a thing of any kind; something or other.
   • I would not do it for anything.
   • Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language […] his clerks […] understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there. 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
   • In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. If the bumf arrived electronically, the take-up rate was 0.1%. And for online adverts the “conversion” into sales was a minuscule 0.01%. 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74:
2. (with “as” or “like”) Expressing an indefinite comparison.
   • Perhaps it was this atmosphere of misplacedness and loneliness as much as anything which led her to speak to him one evening in early summer when the office had closed. 1916, Edward S. Moffat, Go Forth and Find, pages 81–82:

Forms

Deriveds

anything that moves · not much of anything · anything for a quiet life · up to anything · anything but · as anything · ask me anything · are you doing anything tomorrow · if anything · anythingism · anything is possible · or anything · don't do anything I wouldn't do · anythingarian · anything else · anything goes · like anything

Synonyms

aught

Translations (88)

fi mikä (any thing of any kind) · ms apa-apa (any thing of any kind) · it qualunque cosa (any thing of any kind) · la quidquam (any thing of any kind) · sw kitu (any thing of any kind) · ro orice (any thing of any kind) · nb noe (any thing of any kind) · ca qualsevol cosa (any thing of any kind) · ko 아무것도 (any thing of any kind) · bg каквото и да е (any thing of any kind) · be што-не́будзь (any thing of any kind) · pl coś (any thing of any kind) · cs cokoliv (any thing of any kind) · te ఏమైనా (any thing of any kind) · cy unrhyw beth (any thing of any kind) · chr ᎦᎱᏍᏗ (any thing of any kind) · ro nimic (any thing of any kind) · fr rien (any thing of any kind) · ary أي حاجة (any thing of any kind) · pl nic (any thing of any kind) · zdj ndrongoo (any thing of any kind) · mk што било (any thing of any kind) · el οτιδήποτε (any thing of any kind) · pl byle co (any thing of any kind) · ccc anaskajneye (any thing of any kind) · nl iets (any thing of any kind) · nb hva som helst (any thing of any kind) · hu akármi (any thing of any kind) · ja 何でも (any thing of any kind) · nl wat dan ook (any thing of any kind) · tpi samting (any thing of any kind) · id apa pun (any thing of any kind) · ka ნებისმიერი რამ (any thing of any kind) · mk што и да било (any thing of any kind) · km អី (any thing of any kind) · de irgendwas (any thing of any kind) · af enigiets (any thing of any kind) · ms اڤ٢ (any thing of any kind) · eo io ajn (any thing of any kind) · yi עפּעס (any thing of any kind) · ar أَيُّ شَيْءٍ (any thing of any kind) · ru всё (any thing of any kind) · pl wszystko (any thing of any kind) · el ό,τι (any thing of any kind) · ca quelcom (any thing of any kind) · uk будь-що (any thing of any kind) · gd rud sam bith (any thing of any kind) · pl cokolwiek (any thing of any kind) · ga aon rud (any thing of any kind) · hu bármi (any thing of any kind) · gv nhee erbee (any thing of any kind) · mk било што (any thing of any kind) · es cualquier cosa (any thing of any kind) · gl calquera cousa (any thing of any kind) · nb alt (any thing of any kind) · sh bilošto (any thing of any kind) · fi mikä tahansa (any thing of any kind) · got 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃𐌷𐌿𐌽 (any thing of any kind) · de irgendetwas (any thing of any kind) · ru всё, что уго́дно (any thing of any kind) · pt qualquer coisa (any thing of any kind) · sk čokoľvek (any thing of any kind) · nl alles (any thing of any kind) · mt kwalunkwe ħaġa (any thing of any kind) · sv någonting (any thing of any kind) · hi कुछ (any thing of any kind) · fr n’importe quoi (any thing of any kind) · uk що-не́будь (any thing of any kind) · mr काहीही (any thing of any kind) · non hvatvetna (any thing of any kind) · mr काही पण (any thing of any kind) · sh bilo što (any thing of any kind) · uk ніщо́ (any thing of any kind) · ca alguna cosa (any thing of any kind) · be нішто́ (any thing of any kind) · it niente (any thing of any kind) · ca res (any thing of any kind) · ru что уго́дно (any thing of any kind) · sv vad som helst (any thing of any kind) · ru что́-нибудь (any thing of any kind) · ca re (any thing of any kind) · bg нещо (any thing of any kind) · ca tot (any thing of any kind) · id apa saja (any thing of any kind) · ckb ھیچ (any thing of any kind) · cmn 什麼 /什么 (any thing of any kind) · it qualsiasi cosa (any thing of any kind) · io irgo (any thing of any kind)

anything en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈɛn.i.θiŋ/ Upper Midwestern US, Western US, Canada, pre-/ŋ/ tensing
• /ˈæn.i.θɪŋ/ (Ireland)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɪ̟n.i.θɪŋ/ (pin-pen-merger)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈen.i.θɪ̝ŋ/ (Australia)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɛn.ɪ.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Indo-European *h₁oy-no-kós Proto-Germanic *ainagaz Proto-West Germanic *ainag Old English ǣniġ Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Old English aniþing Middle English anything English anything From Middle English anything, enything, onything, from Late Old English aniþing, from earlier ǣniġ þing (literally “any thing”), equivalent to any + thing.

Meanings

1. (ambitransitive, colloquial) Used as a placeholder verb for any verb out of a set of related verbs.
   • “She isn't dating him.” “Oh. What would you call it? I don’t know what you'd call it.” “She isn’t anythinging him. She just likes him, and he likes her back. I—I lied earlier.” 2007, Ann Packer, Songs Without Words, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, page 236:
   • Papa and mamma beg to be very kindly remembered to you" — I'm sure the two old savages wouldn't beg to be kindly anythinged, but it looks well that she should say so, doesn't it? But the end is the best. 1868, Legh Knight, chapter V, in Tonic Bitter, volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, page 80:
   • –I don't want to accompany him! –You never want to anything him!
   • He wasn't cooking, he wasn't sweeping, he wasn't anythinging!
   • I came inclined to be pleased and quite free from racial prejudices, but in 10 months I’ve acquired an instinctive dislike to the Arab voice, the Arab figure, the Arab way of looking or walking or pump shitting or eating or laughing or anythinging. 2009, Richard Canning, Brif Lives: E..M. Forster, Hesperus Press, page 59:
   • “Are you threatening me?” he asked, clearly amused. Any normal man would have backed down, but this guy was a piece of work. “We're not anythinging you,” Laura snapped. 2014, Julia Kent, chapter 4, in Complete We, page 90:
   • " No, no," said he, quickly, " I repudiate half compliments of all kinds. I will neither be half-uncled, half-respected, nor, in short, half-anythinged, by you. ' Out upon such half-faced fellowship !' I will either be something, or altogether nothing." 1849, Fanny Hervey Stirling, “Uncle George Declares Himself” (chapter IX), in Fanny Hervey; or, The Mother's Choice, volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, page 112:

Forms

Relateds

something · everything

anything en · ADV · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈɛn.i.θiŋ/ Upper Midwestern US, Western US, Canada, pre-/ŋ/ tensing
• /ˈæn.i.θɪŋ/ (Ireland)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɪ̟n.i.θɪŋ/ (pin-pen-merger)
• /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈen.i.θɪ̝ŋ/ (Australia)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɛn.ɪ.θɪŋ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Indo-European *h₁oy-no-kós Proto-Germanic *ainagaz Proto-West Germanic *ainag Old English ǣniġ Old English ǣniġe Proto-Indo-European *tenk-? Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm Proto-Germanic *þingą Proto-West Germanic *þing Old English þing Old English þinga Old English ǣniġe þinga Middle English anything English anything From Middle English anything, enything, onything, onythynge, from Old English ǣniġe þinga, ǣnġi þinga (literally “by any of things”), from ǣniġe, instrumental form of ǣniġ (“any”) + þinga, genitive plural of þing (“thing”).

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) In any way, any extent or any degree.
   • She's not anything like as strong as me.
   • That isn't anything like a car.

Forms