anything but typical

Meaning

1. 1phrasefixed phraseinformal

   Not ordinary at all; very unusual or unlike what people would expect.

   Grammar: Used after a linking verb or before a noun: the day was anything but typical.

   Patterns

   • be anything but typical
   • anything but typical for someone

   Her career path has been anything but typical, moving from law to farming to film.

   It was anything but a typical Monday, with the power out and the office flooded.

   The band's sound is anything but typical for a small-town group.

Common combinations

anything but a typical day

With three deadlines and a fire drill, it was anything but a typical day.

anything but a typical family

They are anything but a typical family, living on a boat.

anything but typical behavior

Such outbursts are anything but typical behavior for him.

anything but typical results

The experiment gave anything but typical results.

seem anything but typical

The town seemed anything but typical once we arrived.

Synonyms and how they differ

highly unusual

Highly unusual is a direct, neutral way to say the same thing, while anything but typical adds a slightly dramatic, spoken emphasis.

far from typical

Far from typical is almost the same, but it sounds a little more measured and less emphatic.

extraordinary

Extraordinary suggests the thing is remarkable or special, while anything but typical only says it is not ordinary.

atypical

Atypical is a formal one-word equivalent that does not carry the emphatic pattern.

Opposites

Word family

typical adjective

having the usual qualities of a kind

typically adverb

in most cases or usually

atypical adjective

not typical

typify verb

to be a typical example of something

Commonly confused: anything but typical or anything but?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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