at all
Idioms-
In any way or manner, as in Is she able to sing at all?
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To any extent, as in Was she at all surprised?
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For any reason, as in Why bother at all?
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In the slightest degree, under any circumstances, as in She simply refused to walk at all . This construction often occurs in the negative, as in He was not at all frightened . All four senses of this phrase date from the mid-1300s.
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.
Not everyone is well-versed in investing for retirement, and that lack of knowledge deters some people from saving for the future at all.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The result, says founder and CEO Antonio Baclig, are battery cells that can’t catch fire at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Menzies said construction workers were told "not to open the windows at all", and small written warnings were put up next to the windows for residents.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Johnson keeps the tone so zingy and loose that you don’t have to know Bourdain at all to enjoy the movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But after a moment of looking at all that, he saw past it.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
