Almost

Definition: Almost

Almost

Adverb

1. (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; (`near' is used informally for `nearly' as in "I was near exhausted by the run"; `most' is used informally for `almost' as in "most everybody agrees").

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "almost" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1200. (references)

Tips from 1870

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Synonyms: Almost

Earliness

Suddenly; (instantaneously); before one can say "Jack Robinson", at short notice, extempore; on the spur of the moment, on the spur of the occasion; at once; on the spot, on the instant; at sight; offhand, out of hand; a' vue d'oeil; straight, straightway, straightforth; forthwith, incontinently, summarily, immediately, briefly, shortly, quickly, speedily, apace, before the ink is dry, almost immediately, presently at the first opportunity, in no long time, by and by, in a while, directly.

Imperfection

Adverb: almost; to a limited extent, rather; pretty, moderately, passing; only, considering, all things considered, enough.

Infrequency

Adjective: unfrequent, infrequent; rare, rare as a blue diamond; few; scarce; almost unheard of, unprecedented, which has not occurred within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, not within one's previous experience; not since Adam.

Smallness

Almost, nearly, well-nigh, short of, not quite, all but; near upon, close upon; peu s'en faut, near the mark; within an ace of, within an inch of; on the brink of; scarcely, hardly, barely, only just, no more than. about, thereabouts, somewhere about, nearly, say; be the same, be little more or less. no ways, no way, no wise; not at all, not in the least, not a bit, not a bit of it, not a whit, not a jot, not a shadow; in no wise, in no respect; by no means, by no manner of means; on no account, at no hand.

Whole

Bulk, mass, lump, tissue, staple, body, compages; trunk, torso, bole, hull, hulk, skeleton greater part, major part, best part, principal part, main part; essential part; (importance).; lion's share, Benjamin's mess; the long and the short; nearly, all, almost all.

Crosswords: Almost

If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs (The Matrix; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski)

It was rich, almost sweet, like the scent of jasmine and roses around our old courtyard (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; writing credit: Anne Rice)

Good. You look so beautiful and peaceful, you almost look dead (The Jerk; writing credit: Carl Reiner, written by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb.)

Almost everyone seems to be a Williams, a Jones, or an Evans (The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a ; writing credit: Christopher Monger.)

He's using her for cover; he's almost to a plane (Speed; writing credit: Graham Yost)

The night we almost lost it (Didn't We Almost Have It All; performing artist: Whitney Houston)

So high I almost touch the sky. (Wind beneath my wings; performing artist: BETTE MIDLER)

Let's go, don't wait, this night's almost over (First Date; performing artist: Blink-182)

She took almost everything from me (American Girls; performing artist: Counting Crows)

But you made me feel alive when I was almost dead (Butterfly; performing artist: Crazy Town)

Almost exactly (references; author: unknown)

I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she left me before we met. (references; author: unknown)

Learning history is easy. Learning its lessons is almost impossible. (references; author: unknown)

My biggest problem is that I believe almost everything I tell myself. (references; author: unknown)

You will come across hope and despair in almost every situation. Only one of them wins each time. (references; author: unknown)

The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1965)

Almost Angels (1962)

The Woman They Almost Lynched (1953)

Almost Married (1942)

She Almost Proposed (1918)

Almost Paradise (performing artist: Mike Reno & Ann Wilson)

IT WAS ALMOST LIKE A SONG (performing artist: RONNIE MILSAP)

Didn't We Almost Have It All (performing artist: Whitney Houston)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

References

• Almost Family, Inc.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

  (more reference examples)

Books

• Almost a Whisper: A Holistic Approach to Working With Your Horse (reference)

• Almost a Woman (reference)

• Almost Starring Skinnybones (reference)

• Junie B. Jones is Almost Flower Girl (Junie B. Jones 13, paper) (reference)

• Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Almost Elvis - Elvis Impersonators and Their Quest for the Crown (reference)

• Almost Heroes (reference)

• Christmas That Almost Wasn't (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Almost an Island (reference)

• Almost You: Songs of Elvis Costello (reference)

• The Almost Home LP (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Consumer Goods

• OXO Good Grips Uplift Teakettle, Almost Orange (reference)

  (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Rabies in humans is almost always fatal. Symptoms may be headache, fatigue, fever and pain at the site of the bite can be present. Behavioral changes like apprehension, anxiety, agitation, irritability, insomnia and depression may also appear. Credit: CDC.

Vaccinia necrosum has occurred almost exclusively among persons with cellular immunodeficiency. This is a 64 year old patient after having received a smallpox vaccination. Credit: CDC.

Tightly wound, almost concentric, arms of dark dust encircle the bright nucleus of the galaxy ... Credit: NASA.

Though the brightest supernova in four centuries lit up the southern sky almost exactly 10 ... Credit: NASA.

The western region of Australia's Great Sandy Desert is an area almost devoid of sand, but characterized by complex geology. Credit: NASA.

A full moon reflecting off the river - almost at dawn. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Seagulls occupying almost every piling along a Tangier Island waterman's dock. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Ship is finishing deployment of purse seine net. Almost all of the net is now in the water and the ship will continue to encircle the school of tuna while the workboat (not shown) holds the other end of the net. Credit: Fisheries.

The great slaughter is almost over, with only one group of now dead tuna left to be hauled aboard on the eastern side of the trap. Credit: Fisheries.

This images shows the big gaps in East Timbalier Island left after Hurricane Andrew passed through the area on August 6, 1992. The oil blowout occurred almost one month post hurricane. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Thus it was easy, and almost natural for children, by a tacit, and scarce avoidable consent, to make way for the father's authority and government. (Second Treatise of Government)

The Communists have no need to introduce community of women; it has existed almost from time immemorial. (reference)

It is also an honor, perhaps almost unique, for a private visitor to be introduced to an academic audience by the President of the United States. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Education of Negroes was almost nonexistent, and practically all of the race were illiterate. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

It would be almost beginning their life of civility again

And he steadily resisted all my attempts to return to the subject of Lady Muriel until the evening had almost worn itself away

It was almost intolerable to be borne

To the mass, success has almost the same appearance as supremacy

It was pitch dark almost.

But flowers work almost as well

You cannot reason almost with a man That looks not heavily and fun of dread

The sky was almost dark now and the stars were out sharply

This city stands upon almost two equal parts on each side the river that passes through

One may almost doubt if the wisest man has learned anything of absolute value by living

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

SSPE is almost always a fatal disease. (references)

It affects females almost exclusively. (references)

Of these, almost 5 million are children. (references)

Business

Almost 80% of companies use the Internet. (references)

Almost 58 percent belong to the commercial sector. (references)

Debt is almost entirely made up of bank borrowings. (references)

Children

China

Children put up for foreign adoption are almost exclusively girls. (references)

Indonesia

Almost 50 percent of children grow up in unhealthy or unsafe environments. (references)

Romania

Outside of large institutions, social services for persons with disabilities are almost nonexistent. (references)

Civil Liberties

Israel and the occupied territories

Instead, they must travel along a narrow walkway almost a mile long. (references)

Malaysia

Radio and television almost uniformly are laudatory of the Government. (references)

Turkmenistan

Public criticism of government officials is done almost exclusively by the President himself. (references)

Discrimination

Bhutan

Many ethnic Nepalese were expelled forcibly, and almost 100,000 of them remain in refugee camps in Nepal. (references)

Economic History

Nepal

Showers occur almost every day. (references)

Ghana

School enrollment totals almost 3 million. (references)

Human Rights

Haiti

Police almost never are prosecuted for the abuse of detainees. (references)

Kyrgyz Republic

Local elders' courts are found in almost every oblast and region. (references)

Gabon

Sanitation and ventilation are poor, and medical care is almost nonexistent. (references)

Indigenous People

Panama

Illiteracy among indigenous groups is almost 50 percent, compared with 10 percent among the population as a whole. (references)

Guyana

However, the Government holds title to almost all the country's land and is free to act as it wishes without consultation. (references)

Indonesia

When indigenous people clash with those promoting private sector development projects, the developers almost always prevail. (references)

Minorities

Croatia

This made resumption of a normal life almost impossible for this group. (references)

Hungary

Education is available to varying degrees in almost all minority languages. (references)

Switzerland

The voters rejected 48 applicants, almost all exclusively from southeast Europe, while approving 8 Italians' citizenship bids. (references)

Political Economy

KUWAIT

Almost 98 percent of Kuwait's food is imported. (references)

ARGENTINA

Public sector debt increased in 2000, rising to almost $130 billion. (references)

GERMANY

Import Licenses: Germany has abolished almost all national import quotas. (references)

Political Rights

Egypt

The executive initiates almost all legislation. (references)

Laos

Candidates need not be LPRP members, but in practice almost all are. (references)

Cote d'Ivoire

Thousands of Gbagbo supporters began protesting almost immediately, demanding a proper vote count. (references)

Trade

Peru

Equity increased almost 7% to $2.0 billion. (references)

Japan

Personal checking accounts are almost unknown in Japan. (references)

Bangladesh

The taka is now almost freely convertible for current account transactions. (references)

Travel

Cape Verde

Strong northeast winds blow almost constantly. (references)

Ecuador

Highways are almost all two-lane and can be hazardous. (references)

Costa Rica

Specialists are available in almost all branches of medicine. (references)

Women

Qatar

Women make up almost 40 percent of the workforce. (references)

Tanzania

FGM is almost nonexistent in the rest of the country. (references)

Romania

The successful prosecution of spousal rape is almost impossible. (references)

Worker Rights

Mexico

The public sector is almost completely organized. (references)

Botswana

Formal sector jobs almost always pay well above minimum wage levels. (references)

Uganda

Factories generally are sound, but machinery almost always lacks safeguards. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "almost": almost all ♦ almost certainly ♦ almost everywhere ♦ almost immediately ♦ almost midnight ♦ Almost never ♦ almost noon ♦ Almost nothing ♦ almost surely ♦ almost unbearably beautiful ♦ be almost. Additional references.

Beginning with "almost": almost-accidental, almost-black, almost-blind, almost-built, almost-country, almost-dead, almost-defunct, almost-deserted, almost-empty, almost-ex-wife, almost-finished, almost-forgotten, almost-friends, almost-gold, almost-historic, almost-impossible, almost-instant, almost-invisible, almost-irish, almost-level, almost-lost, almost-lover, almost-mechanical, almost-naked, almost-new, almost-official, almost-original, almost-pain, almost-parodied, almost-privacy, almost-respectable, almost-shrillness, almost-sleep, almost-smile, almost-straight, almost-too-good-to-be-true, almost-truth, almost-unanimous.

Ending with "almost": post-almost.

Afrikaans

byna (nearly), amper (barely, hardly, nearly, only, only just, scarcely), alhaas (nearly, soon). (various references)

Albanian

pothuajse (about), pothuaj (all but, but, half and half, most, much, near, nearly, practically, pretty, quasi, scarcely, virtually, well nigh), gati (about, all but, at hand, but, in line, in store, much, nearly, picked, practically, prepared, pretty, ready, scarcely, virtual, well nigh). (various references)

Arabic 

‏حوالي (about, around, nearly, or so, some, upon), ‏تقريبا (about, all but, most, near, nearly, quasi, roughly, somewhere, thereabouts, upward, upwards, well nigh), ‏على ما أعتقد. (various references)

Basque

ia. (various references)

Bulgarian 

току-речи (nearly), едва ли не (nigh), почти (about, approximately, half, like, near, nearly, next to, nigh, on, practically, say, something like, virtually, well nigh). (various references)

Catalan

gairebé. (various references)

Chinese 

垂 (bend down, bequeath, dangle, droop, factory, hand down, nearly, to approach, to hang), 殆 (dangerous, endanger, only, perilous, probably), 幾乎 (nearly, practically), 幾 (a few, how many, how much, several), 几乎 (Nearly), 將近 (close to, nearly). (various references)

Croatian

zamalo. (various references)

Czech

skoro (about, all but, hardly, nearly, practically). (various references)

Danish

næsten (nearly). (various references)

Dutch

schier (nearly), haast (haste, nearly, soon), bijna (nearly). (various references)

Esperanto

preska—, preskaŭ (nearly). (various references)

Estonian

peaaegu. (various references)

Faeroese

umleið (nearly), næstan (about, approximately, nearly). (various references)

Farsi 

تقریبا (About, Much, Near, Nigh, Some), بطورنزدیک . (various references)

Finnish

melkein (nearly). (various references)

French

presque (all but). (various references)

French Canadian

presque. (various references)

Frisian

amperoan (nearly), skraachwurk (nearly), skraach (nearly), omtrint (nearly), hast (nearly), beneistenby (nearly), benei (nearly). (various references)

German

fast (all but, just about, most, near, nearly, peradventure, virtually), beinahe (near, nearly), nahezu (near, nearly, virtually). (various references)

Greek 

σχεδόν (all but, as good as, close on, just about, near, nearly, nigh, practically, thereabout, thereabouts, virtually, well nigh). (various references)

Haitian Creole

prèske. (various references)

Hawaiian

afro (nearly), thuaja (nearly), pothuaj (nearly), gati (nearly). (various references)

Hebrew 

כמעט (about, all but, near, nearly, virtually). (various references)

Hungarian

majdnem (all but, just, little short of it, much, narrowly, near, nearly, next door to, nigh, pretty near, quasi, to be scarcely able to keep one's head above water, well nigh, wellnigh, within an inch). (various references)

Icelandic

næstum (nearly), nær (nearly), hér um bil (nearly). (various references)

Indonesian

nyaris (hairbreadth, the point of), hampir (at the point of, nearly, next to). (various references)

Irish

beagnach. (various references)

Italian

quasi (about, all but, halfway, hardly, nearly, nigh, practically, scarcely, very nearly). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

粗方 (mostly), 略 (abbreviation, approximately, omission, roughly), 殆ど (mostly), 既の事に (very nearly), 既の所で (very nearly), 九分 (nine parts, nine percent), 位 (about, as, at least, court order, crown, dignity, enough to, grade, nobility, occupying a position, rank, rather, situation, throne), 八九分 (nearly), 先ず (about, anyway, first, hardly, now, to start with, well), 危うく (in imminent danger of, nearly). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

すんでのことに (very nearly), すんでのところで (very nearly), くぶ (nine parts, nine percent), くらい (about, as, at least, court order, crown, dark, dignity, enough to, gloomy, grade, nobility, occupying a position, rank, rather, situation, throne), まず (about, anyway, first, hardly, now, to start with, well), ほぼ (approximately, roughly), ほとんど (mostly), あらかた (mostly), あやうく (in imminent danger of, nearly), はっくぶ (nearly). (various references)

Korean 

거의. (various references)

Malay

hampir (nearly). (various references)

Manx

bunnys (nearly, verge, virtually, wellnigh), begnagh (nearly, wellnigh). (various references)

Norwegian

nesten (nearly). (various references)

Papiamen

kasi (nearly), era (nearly). (various references)

Pig Latin

almostay.(various references)

Polish

prawie (nearly), niemal (nearly). (various references)

Portuguese

quase (about, all but, approximately, half, half-way, just, just about, much, near, nearly, next to, nigh, quasi, well-nigh), por pouco (about, just, narrowly, nearly, next to). (various references)

Portuguese Brazilian

quase. (various references)

Romanian

aproape (about, afar, all but, anigh, approximately, as good as, at one's elbow, at the point of, close, close by, close upon, far, far away, hard, immediately, just about, little or nothing, near, near by, nearby, nearly, neighbor, neighbour, nigh, remotely, some, soon, thereabouts). (various references)

Russian 

почти (about, all but, close on, much, nearly, practically, quasi, well nigh, well-nigh). (various references)

Scottish

mu'n gann, cha mhór nach, cha mhór (it may almost, nearly). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

zamalo (all but, nearly), skoro (about, just, just about, nearly, newly, practically, recently, soon, well nigh). (various references)

Slovene

skoraj. (various references)

Spanish

casi (about, all but, near, nearly, next, next door, next to, nigh, quasi). (various references)

Sranan

pikinso moro (nearly). (various references)

Swedish

nästan (about, all but, kind of, much, nearly, nigh). (various references)

Tagalog

hálos (at all, entirely, nearly, quite, wholly). (various references)

Turkish

adeta (fairly, in fact, nearly, so to say, so to speak). (various references)

Turkmen 

tas (nearly), takmynan, takmyn (about, approimately), diяen яaly. (various references)

Ukrainian

майже (about, all but, anear, approximately, as good as, but, half, hard upon, just about, much, near, nearby, nearly, next door to, next to, nigh, nighly, practically, quasi, quite, well nigh, within), мало не (near, nearly). (various references)

Vietnamese 

tí nữa, suýt nữa (hairbreadth, hair's breadth, narrowly). (various references)

Welsh

agos (approximate, near, nigh), ymron (nearly), haeach (hardly), bron (breast, nearly), braidd (barely, hardly, only just, rather, scarcely, somewhat). (various references)

fere. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Misspellings

"Almost" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: admisit, Aljos, allmost, almsot, Almut, alomost, amast, Amlot, amot, atmost, Elmos, Elymiots, Lamot. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: smalto, stomal.

-1 letter: altos, atoms, loams, lotas, malts, moats, molas, molts, smalt, smolt, stoma, tolas.

-2 letters: alms, also, alto, alts, atom, lams, last, lats, loam, lost, lota, lots, malt, mast, mats, moas, moat, mola, mols, molt, most, mots, oast, oats, salt, slam, slat, slot, sola, soma, stoa, tams, taos, tola, toms.

-3 letters: als, alt, lam, las.

+1 letter: amatols, flotsam, maltols, maltose, mortals, smaltos, somital, stromal.

+2 letters: blastoma, flotsams, lamppost, loamiest, maillots, maltoses, marplots, matelots, moralist, mulattos, myoblast, oatmeals, solatium, stomatal, tombolas, totalism, voltaism.

+3 letters: alumroots, amitroles, atonalism, autosomal, blastomas, cytoplasm, diplomats, ectoplasm, elastomer, emulators, flameouts, flatworms, formalist, hailstorm, immolates, immortals, lampposts, loathsome, maelstrom, mannitols, marlstone, martellos, matelotes, megavolts, mestranol, methanols, mislocate, modulates, moralists, mothballs, mulattoes, myoblasts, nonmetals, palmettos, platforms, polymaths, rolamites, salometer, semitonal, simulator, steamroll, stomodeal, telamones, temporals, thraldoms, tomalleys, totalisms, voltaisms.