Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
almost — • During the next week Morel s temper was almost unbearable D. H. Lawrence, 1913. Almost has a special role in diluting or ‘downgrading’ adjectives and adverbs that express an extreme, as if the user wants to keep the notion at arm s length or to … Modern English usage
Almost — Al most ([add]l m[=o]st), adv. [AS. ealm[ae]st, [ae]lm[ae]st, quite the most, almost all; eal (OE. al) all + m?st most.] Nearly; well nigh; all but; for the greatest part. [1913 Webster] Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Acts xxvi. 28 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
almost — I adverb approximately, close to, nearly, on the brink of, on the verge of, scarcely, within sight of II index approximate, quasi Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
almost as — index quasi Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
almost — (adv.) O.E. eallmæst nearly all, for the most part, lit. mostly all; see ALL (Cf. all) + MOST (Cf. most). Modern form from 15c … Etymology dictionary
almost — *nearly, approximately, well nigh … New Dictionary of Synonyms
almost — [adv] nearly, very nearly about, about to, all but, approximately, around, as good as, bordering on, close to, close upon, essentially, for all practical purposes, for the greatest part, in effect, in the neighborhood of, in the vicinity of, just … New thesaurus
almost — ► ADVERB ▪ very nearly. ORIGIN Old English … English terms dictionary
almost — [ôl′mōst΄, ôl mōst′] adv. [OE eallmæst: see ALL & MOST] very nearly but not completely; all but … English World dictionary
almost — adverb very nearly but not completely: We ve almost finished. | We stayed there for almost a week. | almost every: They sold almost everything. | almost all: Almost all the children here speak two languages. | an almost impossible task | wines… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
almost — al|most [ ɔlmoust ] adverb *** nearly but not completely: Are you ready? Almost! I m just putting my shoes on. It s almost a year since she died. The baby s almost walking now. almost all: Almost all of the students here are from South America.… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
