almost

Meanings

1. 1adverbnot comparable

   Nearly but not completely; very close to a state, amount, or event.

   Grammar: Goes before the word it modifies: almost ready, almost finished, almost everyone.

   Patterns

   • almost everyone
   • almost always
   • almost done
   • almost as … as

   We are almost there, so just a few more minutes.

   Almost everyone in my class passed the exam.

   She almost missed the train.

2. 2adverbnot comparable

   Used before never, no, nothing, and similar words to mean very close to that, with only rare exceptions.

   Grammar: Pairs with negatives: almost never, almost nothing, almost nobody.

   Patterns

   • almost never
   • almost nothing
   • almost no one

   He almost never eats breakfast.

   There was almost nothing left in the fridge.

   Almost nobody noticed the mistake.

Common combinations

almost always

I almost always take the bus to work.

almost certain

I'm almost certain I left my keys here.

almost impossible

It's almost impossible to park near the stadium.

almost there

Hang on, we're almost there.

almost never

My brother almost never calls.

Synonyms and how they differ

nearly

Nearly is almost interchangeable, though almost sounds slightly better before never, no, and nothing.

practically

Practically means for all practical purposes and sounds more informal and emphatic.

virtually

Virtually is more formal and suggests the difference is too small to matter.

just about

Just about is conversational and suggests narrowly reaching a point.

Opposites

Word family

nearly adverb

a close synonym

all determiner

the root of the word

Commonly confused: almost or most? almost or mostly?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “almost”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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