by any stretch

Idioms  

1. Beyond ordinary limits, especially of the imagination. For example, She could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered a great actress. The phrase sometimes is put in the negative, by no stretch, as in By no stretch can that work be called an opera. [Late 1700s]

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Example Sentences

“It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassinate. And they know that.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

Just like 2024’s troubled “It Ends with Us” — the first big-screen adaptation of one of Hoover’s novels— and last fall’s “Regretting You,” “Reminders of Him” isn’t good by any stretch of the imagination.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

“We don’t think that the U.S. opportunity is over by any stretch of the imagination,” said Chris Hyzy, chief investment officer of Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

"Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, by any stretch of the imagination, but he needed to be out there for physicality, for presence, for experience."

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

And they weren’t rich yet by any stretch of the imagination.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell