anything
6 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of ANYTHING
1
:
a thing of any kind
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We were allowed to do anything we wanted to.
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If you're not sure what to say, just say anything that comes to mind.
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She didn't say anything at all. [=she said nothing at all]
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That dog will eat almost/nearly/practically/virtually anything.
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We didn't talk about anything much.
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The new stadium is spectacular. There's never been anything like it.
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She never does anything but complain. [=all she does is complain]
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I'll do anything I can to help.
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They were ready for anything (that might happen).
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You can't tell him anything about computers. He thinks he's an expert.
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I can't think of her as anything but a good friend. [=I can only think of her as a good friend]
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He'll do anything for a laugh.
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I'd do/give anything to see her again.
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He won't take anything from anyone. [=he won't allow anyone to mistreat him, to be rude to him, etc.]
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She ate hardly anything. [=she ate almost nothing]
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He said he was sorry, but that doesn't really mean anything.
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I don't have anything against them. [=I don't have any reason for disliking them]
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She thought it was funny but I didn't see anything funny about it. [=I didn't think it was funny at all]
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They've been doing everything and anything to finish on time. = They've been doing anything and everything to finish on time.
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The problems were caused by lack of time as much as anything.
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She dresses conservatively at work, but on the weekends, anything goes. [=anything is acceptable; there are no rules that have to be followed]
2
:
1something
— used in questions
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Would you like anything else?
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Is there anything wrong?
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Is there anything (good/interesting) on TV tonight?
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(informal) Do you want some pretzels or anything? [=or a similar thing]
anything but
:
not at all
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He looked anything but happy. [=he looked very unhappy]
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Though he said he was happy, he looked anything but (happy).
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This problem is anything but new.
anything like
1
:
at all like
— used in negative statements
-
He doesn't look anything like his brother.
2
or
anything near
:
in any way
:
at all
— used in negative statements
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He doesn't look anything like his brother.
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The movie wasn't anything like/near what I expected it to be. [=the movie was completely different from what I expected it to be]
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We don't have anything like/near enough time. [=we don't have nearly enough time]
as anything
informal
:
as any person or thing
— used to make a statement more forceful
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He was (as) calm as anything. [=he was very calm]
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It was as obvious as anything [=it was extremely obvious] that she didn't want to go.
for anything
:
for any reason
— used in negative statements
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I like my life, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
if anything
like anything
informal
:
very much
:
very forcefully
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It was raining like anything. [=it was raining very hard]
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She was hoping like anything that the weather would be good.
more than anything
:
very much
:
very badly
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I wanted to believe her more than anything [=I very much wanted to believe her], but I couldn't.
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More than anything (in the world), I'd like to visit Paris again. [=the thing I most want to do is to visit Paris again]
