as in almost
very close to but not completely
dinner is all but on the table, so don't go anywhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for all but
Adverb
-
The majority of what remained was auctioned off by the French state in a wave of republican sentiment almost a hundred years later.—
Laura Sharman,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026 -
Last year was almost certainly the first year of the 21st century that preventable child mortality went up rather than down.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The talented Czech goalies are practically salivating at the opportunity.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Assuming Crawford or another starter candidate fills the long-relief role, the rest of the bullpen looks practically set.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
As of Thursday, that system still had nearly 500 outages.—
ALEX ROZIER Mississippi Today,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Guthrie lives on nearly an acre, in a brown-brick, ranch-style house with an attached garage, a short gravel driveway, and desert landscaping.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
By Thursday, investigators were looking for a man who’s about five feet nine or five feet ten, of average build.—
Paige Williams,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
-
El Salvador has received about 250 Venezuelan nationals in March last year, while the other nations received far fewer deportees, ranging from 29 sent to Equatorial Guinea to none sent to Palau so far, according to the report.—
STEPHEN GROVES,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“All but.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/all%20but. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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