pretty much

Idioms  

1. Almost, nearly, approximately, as in Our homework was pretty much finished. This adverbial usage differs from the use of pretty for “considerable” (as in pretty penny). [c. 1800]

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Example Sentences

"Production of ozone-depleting substances has pretty much ceased around the world except for this one use, which is when you have a chemical you convert into something else."

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2026

Rosenberg also cites the rally in riskier assets as a sign the market thinks the war is pretty much over.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

High-speed trains, and pretty much any mass transportation improvement, continue to elude the United States, but one can experience them elsewhere.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

The backdoor Roth means anyone can immediately put money into a Roth regardless of how much they earn — pretty much making a mockery of the modified adjusted gross income limits for Roth contributions.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

He jumped off the bus, pretty much just stormed to the classroom, and slapped his notebooks down on his desk.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Related Words

• a little
• considerably
• fairly
• kind of
• moderately
• quite
• rather
• reasonably
• somewhat
• very