Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

By No Means

Definition: By No Means

By No Means

Adverb

1. (informal) definitely not; "the prize is by no means certain"; "and that isn't all, not by a long sight".

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


Synonyms: By No Means

Synonyms: not by a blame sight (adv), not by a long sight (adv). (additional references)
Antonym: by all means (adv). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: By No Means

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Dissent

Phrase: many men many minds; quot homines tot sententiae; tant s'en faut; il s'en faut bien;no way; by no means; count me out.

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.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: By No Means

English words defined with "by no means": Amicable numbersBy no manner of meansnot by a blame sight, not by a long sight, Not so neitherTo congratulate one's self. (references)
Specialty definitions using "by no means": Cannot by no meansDeath's Head on a Mopstick, DenysGlass BreakerMisnomersOffa's Dyke. (references)

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Modern Usage: By No Means

DomainUsage

Screenplays

A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting. (Doctor Who; writing credit: Basil Caplan; Martin Defalco)

Lyrics

By no means average (No Diggity; performing artist: Blackstreet)

I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road (KING OF THE ROAD; performing artist: Roger Miller)

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

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Familiar Quotations: By No Means

AuthorQuotation

Charles Caleb Colton

He that dies a martyr proves that he was not a knave, but by no means that he was not a fool.

William Shakespeare

Give thy thoughts no tongue, nor any unproportioned thought his act. Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Historic Usage: By No Means

AuthorDateQuotation

John Locke

1690

But if any one should ask, Must the people then always lay themselves open to the cruelty and rage of tyranny? Must they see their cities pillaged, and laid in ashes, their wives and children exposed to the tyrant's lust and fury, and themselves and families reduced by their king to ruin, and all the miseries of want and oppression, and yet sit still? Must men alone be debarred the common privilege of opposing force with force, which nature allows so freely to all other creatures for their preservation from injury? I answer: Self-defence is a part of the law of nature; nor can it be denied the community, even against the king himself: but to revenge themselves upon him, must by no means be allowed them; it being not agreeable to that law. (Second Treatise of Government)

Communist Manifesto

1848

We by no means intend to abolish this personal appropriation of the products of labour, an appropriation that is made for the maintenance and reproduction of human life, and that leaves no surplus wherewith to command the labour of others. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: By No Means

TitleAuthorQuote

Emma

Austen, Jane

I must think your statement by no means fair.

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

They are by no means such good canaille as is believed.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: By No Means

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

But it is by no means a new disease. (references)

Last, but by no means least, the NIH will continue to work closely with voluntary organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association. (references)

However, the absolute necessity for radiotherapy for survival benefits is by no means convincingly demonstrated at this time, and we must await the completion of current trials for clarification of this issue. (references)

Business

Growth in the luxury and spa sectors is by no means stagnant. (references)

While copyright piracy has by no means been eliminated, protection for books and periodicals has greatly improved. (references)

An established strategy of the Chinese government in introducing foreign investment is "market share for advanced technology transfer" and the telecommunications sector is by no means an exception. (references)

Economic History

Zimbabwe

At present, many bureaucratic functions in this still heavily controlled economy are less than fully transparent and can by no means be considered streamlined. (references)

Botswana

U.S. businesses normally access the market through joint ventures with either the Botswana Telecommunication Corporation or local investors, although this route is by no means mandatory. (references)

Australia

Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney, and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many but by no means all of the first settlers were convicts, condemned for offenses that today would often be thought trivial. (references)

Travel

Slovak Rep

Many, but by no means all, Slovak companies have English speakers among their top managers; U.S. business representatives should be prepared to do business through interpreters and allow for the possibility of occasional misunderstandings. (references)

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

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Modern Translation: By No Means

Language Translations for "by no means"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

në asnjë mënyrë (far from, no way, nohow, noway, nowise, on no account, possibly). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏على الإطلاق (not on your life). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

в никакъв случай. (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

(absolutely, cut short, extinct, to disappear, to vanish). (various references)

   

Czech

  

v žádném případì (nohow, on no account, out of the question). (various references)

   

Danish

  

ingenlunde (in no way, not at all, on no account). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

op geen enkele wýze (in no way, not at all, on no account), in geen geval (in no way, not at all, on no account), geenszins (in no way, not at all, on no account). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

neniel (in no way, not at all). (various references)

   

Faeroese

  

á ongan hátt (in no way, not at all, on no account). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

ei kuinkaan (in no way, not at all, on no account). (various references)

   

French

  

loin de, en aucune manière, en aucune façon. (various references)

   

German

  

keineswegs (in no way, none too, not at all, not in the least, noway, on no account), auf keinen fall (in no case, in no circumstances, on no account, under no circumstances), beileibe. (various references)

   

Greek 

  

καθόλου (any, at all, nohow, none, not a bit, not at all, not in the slightest, not nearly, whatsoever). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

לא ולא (definitely not, thumbs down), בשום מקום, בשום אופן (in no way, not on your life, noway, on no account). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

semmi esetre. (various references)

   

Italian

  

per niente (anything, none, noway), in nessun modo (in no way, not at all, nowise, on no account). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

真逆 , 決して (never), 中々 (considerably, easily, fairly, highly, quite, rather, readily, very), 中中 (considerably, easily, fairly, highly, quite, rather, readily, very), 否々 (reluctantly, unwillingly), 否否 (reluctantly, unwillingly). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

なかなか (considerably, easily, fairly, highly, quite, rather, readily, very), まさか, いやいや (grudgingly, reluctantly, shaking head in refusal, unwillingly), けっして (never). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

ybay onay eansmay

   

Polish

  

w żaden sposób. (various references)

   

Portuguese

  

em hipótese alguma (on no account), de jeito nenhum (no, no way, noway). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

ba cã chiar (tell it to the marines, you don't say so), nu (nay, never, no, not), . (various references)

   

Russian 

  

никоим образом (in no shape or form, in no way, in no wise, no way, nohow, nowise). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

nikako (means: by no means, never, no way, nohow, not at all, nothing, noway, nowise, poorly). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

de ninguna manera (certainly not, in no way, no way, not anywise, not at all, not in the least, not likely, not on your life, nothing doing, noway, noways, of no account, on no account, under no circumstances). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

ingalunda (in no way, no way, not at all, nothing, on no account). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

kesinlikle olmaz (no way), kesinlikle (absolutely, assuredly, blankly, certainly, decidedly, declaredly, definitely, emphatically, exactly, expressly, flatly, nohow, not by a fraction, of a surety, precisely, really, roundly, strictly, sure), katiyen (absolutely not, by no manner of means, in no degree, in no wise, never, no way, no whit, nohow, not a whit, not at all, nothing, noway, on no account), hiçbir suretle (by no manner of means, in no way, never, under no circumstances), hiçbir şekilde (anywise, in no way, in no wise, never, not in the least, on no account, under no circumstances), asla (by no manner of means, ever, far from, in no way, in no wise, ne'er, never, nevermore, no way, no whit, nohow, not a bit, not a whit, not an iota, not at all, not by a fraction, nothing, nothing doing, nowise, nuts, on no account). (various references)

   

Turkmen 

  

teя (bottom, not at all). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

ні в якому разі (nohow, noway, noways, nowise). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: By No Means

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

haud, haut, immo, minime, nequaquam, neque, nequequam. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: By No Means

LanguageDateSourceRomans Chapter 9, Verse 14
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintTi oun eroumen mh adikia para tw qew mh genoito
Latin405VulgateQuid ergo dicemus numquid iniquitas apud Deum absit
Old English990West SaxonLa hwæt sculon we secgan? Is god unriht? Nælles!
Middle English1395WyclifWhat therfor schulen we seie? Whether wickidnesse be anentis God?
Renaissance English1526TyndaleWhat shall we saye then? is there eny vnrightewesses with God? God forbyd.
Jacobean English1611King JamesWhat shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Victorian English1833WebsterWhat shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? By no means.
Basic English1964OgdenWhat may we say then? is God not upright? let it not be said.

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

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Matched Bible Translations: By No Means

LanguageRomans Chapter 9, Verse 14
Cebuano¶ Nan, unsa may atong ikasulti? Nga wala ang hustisya diha sa Dios? Palayo kana!
Croatian to æemo dakle reæi? Možda da u Boga ima nepravde? Nipošto!
DanishHvad skulle vi da sige? mon der er Uretfærdighed hos Gud? Det være langt fra!
DutchWat zullen wij dan zeggen? Is er onrechtvaardigheid bij God? Dat zij verre.
FinnishMitä siis sanomme? Ei kaiketi Jumalassa ole vääryyttä? Pois se!
FrenchQue dirons-nous donc? Y a-t-il en Dieu de l`injustice? Loin de l !
GermanWas wollen wir denn hier sagen? Ist denn Gott ungerecht? Das sei ferne!
Haitian Creole¶ Bon, kisa sa vle di? Bondye gen lè ap fè lenjistis? Men non.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariApakah kesimpulan kita sekarang? Bahwa Allah itu tidak adilkah? Sudah barang tentu Allah adil!
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaApakah yang hendak kita katakan? Lalimkah Allah itu? Mustahil.
ItalianChe diremo dunque? C'è forse ingiustizia da parte di Dio? No certamente!
Korean그 런 즉 우 리 가 무 슨 말 하 리 " 하 나 님 께 불 의 가 있 느 뇨 그 럴 수 없 느 니 라
Maori¶ Ka pehea ai i kona ta tatou korero? He tikanga he koia kei te Atua? Kahore rapea.
NorwegianHvad skal vi da si? er der vel urettferdighet hos Gud? Langt derifra!
PortugueseQue diremos, pois? Há injustiça da parte de Deus? De modo nenhum.   
RumanianDeci ce vom zice? Nu cumva este nedreptate kn Dumnezeu? Nici de cum!
Shuar¶ Túriniaitkiui "Yus pénkerchaiti" ¿titiajiash? Atsá.
Spanish¿Qué, pues, diremos? ¿Acaso hay injusticia en Dios? ¡De ninguna manera!
SwahiliBasi, tuseme nini? Je, Mungu amekosa haki? Hata kidogo!
SwedishVad skola vi då säga? Kan väl orättfärdighet finnas hos Gud? Bort det!
Uma¶ Aga neo' ta'uli' hewa toi: "Ane Alata'ala mpopelihi to hadua pai' mpoka'oja' to hadua, uma-i monoa'!" Uma-e' makono lolita toe!

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

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Anagrams: By No Means

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-b-e-m-n-n-o-s-y"

-2 letters: ambones, anonyms, bemoans, bynames, mannose, soybean.

-3 letters: annoys, anonym, anyone, baymen, beanos, bemoan, bonnes, byname, embays, maybes, moneys, yamens, yeoman.

-4 letters: abyes, abysm, aeons, ambos, amens, annoy, anomy, banes, banns, beams, beamy, beano, beans, bemas, benny, besom, bones, boney, bonne, bonny, ebons, ebony, embay, mabes, manes, manos, manse, mason, maybe, mayos, means, meany.

 Words containing the letters "a-b-e-m-n-n-o-s-y"
 

+5 letters: indemonstrably.

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

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Quotations: Familiar
6. Quotations: Historic
7. Quotations: Fiction
8. Quotations: Non-fiction
9. Translations: Modern
10. Translations: Ancient
11. Bible Trace
12. Anagrams
13. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.