not really

not really

English

Pronunciation

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Adverb

not really (not comparable)

1. To a low degree, not particularly, not especially.

   I’m not really hungry now, so let’s have dinner later.

   • 2022 September 13, See what Russians left behind after being run out of city‎, CNN, 2:54 from the start:

     I asked him if it had been a hard fight.
     "Not really," he said.

2. Not actually (a hypothetical will not, in fact, come to pass), often rhetorical.

   You’re not really going to marry him, are you?

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with really not, meaning “to a high degree” or “(affirming) sincerely not, absolutely not”.
• Also not to be confused with no really.

Translations

to a low degree

French: pas vraiment Hungarian: nem igazán Russian: не о́чень (ne óčenʹ), не сли́шком-то (ne slíškom-to)