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Synonyms

after a fashion

Idioms  

  1. Also, after a sort. Somehow or other; not very well, as in John can read music, after a fashion, or He managed to paint the house after a sort. The first phrase, in which fashion means “a manner of doing something,” has been so used since the mid-1800s, when it replaced in a fashion. The variant dates from the mid-1500s. Also see in a way; (somehow) or other.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

You may be surprised to hear that Congress is getting serious, after a fashion, about Social Security reform.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

McLaren boss Ron Dennis sympathised, after a fashion, with Jordan, saying to him: "Welcome to the Piranha Club."

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2025

Nevertheless, true crime can be a passive teacher in the same way all entertainment is, after a fashion.

From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2023

It also replicates, after a fashion, some of the crediting issues many TikTok creators have protested.

From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2022

Certainly not, and the Incorrigibles could do all those things, after a fashion.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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