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.
Then again, this is Shohei Ohtani, so it might not be surprising at all.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
"Prices are unlikely to return to February 2026 levels before the third quarter of 2026, if at all this year."
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
However, 24% of Americans surveyed by Bankrate last year said they had no emergency savings at all.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
Some may contribute to cancer development, while others have no effect at all.
From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026
But now I can’t tell if it means anything at all or if I’m just so desperate for meaning that I’m inventing it where there is none.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
