Somehow

Definition: Somehow

Somehow

Adverb

1. In some unspecified way or manner; or by some unspecified means; "they managed somehow"; "he expected somehow to discover a woman who would love him"; "he tried to make is someway acceptable".

2. For some unspecified reason; "It doesn't seem fair somehow"; "he had me dead to rights but somehow I got away with it"; "for some reason they didn't seem to match".

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

Date "somehow" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references)

Synonyms: Somehow

Attribution

In some way, in some such way; somehow, somehow or other.

Instrumentality

Per fas et nefas, by fair means or foul; somehow, somehow or other; by hook or by crook.

Method

One way or another, anyhow; somehow or other; (instrumentality); by way of; via; in transitu; on the high road to.

Crosswords: Somehow

I always liked going South, somehow it feels like going downhill (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; writing credit: Frances Walsh)

You switched 'em. You switched 'em somehow, you bastards (The Green Mile; writing credit: Frank Darabont)

Just walk right into Precrime, go into the Temple, somehow tap into the Precogs, and then download this Minority Report (Minority Report; writing credit: Scott Frank)

Somehow they managed to get every creep and freak in the universe on this one plane (Con Air; writing credit: Scott Rosenberg)

I should have died many times, Captain, but I continue to survive somehow. This time it was your fault (The Enemy Below; writing credit: Wendell Mayes. Based on the novel by D.A. Rayner.)

I'd find the way somehow (Price of Love; performing artist: Bad English)

All I want is just to get to you somehow (Precious Love; performing artist: Bob Welch; writing credit: Bob Welch)

Did you now, still I miss you somehow (From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart; performing artist: Britney Spears)

I wasn't lookin' but somehow you found me. (NOBODY DOES IT BETTER; performing artist: CARLY SIMON)

Somehow ever since I've been around you (If You Asked Me To; performing artist: Celine Dion)

Somehow Good (1927)

Sean Hughes Is Thirty Somehow (1995)

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

Books

• Somehow good (reference)

• Somehow Inside of Eternity: Thoughts to Last a Lifetime (reference)

• Somehow These Things Are All Connected (reference)

• Somehow We Survive: An Anthology of South African Writing (reference)

• Words That Must Somehow Be Said (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Somehow It's True (reference)

• Somehow Someway Someday (reference)

• Somehow You Just Don't Get It (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

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

She does look like a fashionable young lady, but somehow I miss my little Rose. Credit: Library of Congress.

Somehow it doesn't taste as sweet as I thought it would!. Credit: Library of Congress.

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

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

The name "Westminster" is somehow familiar to me. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1899)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Right and Wrong had somehow been transformed into Gain and Loss, and Religion had become a sort of commercial transaction

Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard

He'd got that - somehow he'd got it. He tried again

Only, he feels somehow as if the weight of his feet increased with every step which he takes

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

If we could somehow remove all the placenta's hormones from the mother's blood, the condition would be remedied. (references)

Cobalt is a solid metal, and even if somehow something should break, it will not spread through the environment. (references)

News reports focused on this fact, and the misperception grew that the unknown disease was somehow linked to Navajos. (references)

Business

As under the previous law, the Korean government can only reject a foreign investor notification if the activity appears on an explicit negative list or is somehow related to national security, the maintenance of public order, or the protection of public health, morality or safety. (references)

Civil Liberties

Fiji

The press has access to prominent figures in the country, but in a newspaper article in the Fiji Sun during the week of September 10, the newly appointed Minister for National Reconciliation, Information, and Media Relations stated that, "The Government of the day must have control of the media in the country." He continued to say that while the Government respects freedom of information by the media, "They should somehow have respect ... [and] in many occasions media reports had been slanted and biased ... the least reporters could do was just have comments from Government." There is a Complaints Committee within the Fiji Media Council; however, no complaints were filed during the year. (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 "somehow": contrive somehow ♦ somehow or other. Additional references.

Albanian

disi (indifferently, kind of, rather, somewhat). (various references)

Arabic 

‏بطريقة ما, ‏بطريقة أو بأخرى. (various references)

Bulgarian 

някак си (indefinably), по някакъв начин. (various references)

Chinese 

以某种方法, 不知何故 . (various references)

Czech

nìjak (anyhow, anywise). (various references)

Dutch

op de een of andere manier (anyway). (various references)

Esperanto

iel (anyway). (various references)

Faeroese

onkursvegna (anyway). (various references)

Farsi 

هرجورهست , هرجور, بیک نوعی , بطریقی . (various references)

Finnish

jotenkuten (in some way), jotenkin (anyway, fairly, rather). (various references)

French

d'une façon ou d'une autre. (various references)

German

irgendwie (anyhow, anyway, somehow or other, someway, sort of). (various references)

Greek 

κάπωσ (just about, rather, somewhat), κάπως (rather, somewhat), οπωσδήποτε (anyhow, anyway, however, howsoever, soever, someway). (various references)

Hebrew 

איך שהו (someway). (various references)

Hungarian

valahogy (anyway, aught, in a way, kind of, sort of). (various references)

Indonesian

bagaimanapun juga (anyhow, at any rate). (various references)

Irish

ar dhoigh éigin (anyway), ar chuma éigin (anyway), ar chaoi éigin (anyway). (various references)

Italian

per questo motivo o altro, in un modo o nell'altro, in qualche modo (anything, someway), chissà perché (who knows). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

漫ろに (in spite of oneself, vaguely, without knowing why). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

そぞろに (in spite of oneself, vaguely, without knowing why), なぜか (for some reason, without knowing why), なんとか (anyhow, one way or another), なんだか (a little, somewhat), まがりなりにも (though imperfect), どうも (how, much, no matter how hard one may try, quite, really, thanks, very), どことなく (for some reason, vaguely), どこともなく (aimlessly). (various references)

Korean 

여하튼. (various references)

Manx

er aght ennaght, anshaght. (various references)

Pig Latin

omehowsay.(various references)

Polish

jakoś (anyway). (various references)

Portuguese

seja como for (howsoever), de qualquer maneira (anyhow, anyway, anywise, at any rate, however, howsoever, in any event, rain or shine, someway), de certo modo (in a fashion, in a sense), de alguma maneira (someway), de algum modo (any, someway). (various references)

Romanian

oarecum (after a fashion, in a fashion, rather, somewhat), cumva (peradventure, perchance, perhaps), întrucâtva (any, like, rather, something, somewhat). (various references)

Russian 

как-нибудь (anyhow). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

nekako (kind of, someway, somewise), na neki način (respect: in some respects). (various references)

Spanish

de algún modo (someway). (various references)

Swedish

på något sätt (anyhow, anyway). (various references)

Thai

ด้วยวิธีใดก็ตาม. (various references)

Turkish

nasıl olursa, herhangi bir şekilde (anywise, in any wise), her nedense (for some reason), her nasılsa (anyhow, for some reason, however), bir türlü (in no way, in one way or another, just as bad), bir şekilde (anywise, one way or another). (various references)

Turkmen 

telli-pelli (somehow (or other)). (various references)

Ukrainian

якось (one day), як-небудь (anyhow, anyway, pell mell, pellmell, so and so, some time). (various references)

Vietnamese 

vì lý do này khác, không biết làm sao bằng cách này cách khác. (various references)

Welsh

rhywsut. (various references)

aliqua, quomodo. (various references)

Misspellings

"Somehow" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Seehof, Semkhoz, Shmekov, someo, some'ow. (additional references)

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: whomso.

-2 letters: homes, homos, howes, meows, moose, whose, whoso, woosh.

-3 letters: hems, hews, hoes, home, homo, hose, howe, hows, meow, mesh, mews, mhos, moos, mosh, mows, ohms, oohs, owes, owse, shew, shmo, shoe, shoo, show, smew, some, whom, woes, woos.

-4 letters: ems, hem, hes, hew, hoe, how, mew, mho, moo, mos, mow, oes, ohm.

+2 letters: hometowns, homeworks, townhomes, wholesome, whoredoms, wormholes.

+3 letters: homeowners, horsewoman, horsewomen, whomsoever.

+4 letters: unwholesome, wholesomely.

+5 letters: whoremongers.