near‧ly S1 W1 / nɪəli $ nɪrli / 副词

1 especially British English almost, but not quite or not completely 同义词 almost :

It took nearly two hours to get here.

Michelle’s nearly twenty.

Is the job nearly finished?

Louise is nearly as tall as her mother.

I nearly always go home for lunch.

He very nearly died.

2 not nearly not at all :

He’s not nearly as good-looking as his brother.

We’ve saved some money, but it’s not nearly enough .

Grammar

Do not use nearly before negative words like ’no’, ’nothing’ etc. Instead, use almost , or say hardly any , hardly anything etc :

I know almost nothing (NOT nearly nothing) about him.

There was hardly any traffic (NOT nearly no traffic).

THESAURUS

almost not completely or not quite : I’ve almost finished my essay. | It’s almost lunchtime.

nearly almost. Nearly is more commonly used in British English than American English : I’ve been a teacher for nearly 10 years now. | It’s very nearly time to go home.

not quite almost, but not yet : ‘Is he 60?’ ‘Not quite!’ | It’s not quite time to go yet. | I’m not quite ready yet.

practically/virtually very nearly : The room was practically empty. | practically all/everything/everyone etc : The frost killed practically every plant in the garden. | Virtually everyone had gone home.

more or less/just about/pretty much especially spoken very nearly – use this when saying that the difference is not important : All the rooms are more or less the same size. | His jacket was pretty much the same colour as his trousers. | The policy will benefit just about everyone.

getting on for British English informal , getting on toward especially American English informal almost a particular time, age, or period of time – used especially when you are not sure of the exact time, age etc : It’s getting on for 10 years since we last saw each other. | ‘How old’s Diane?’ ‘She must be getting on toward 50.’

close to almost a particular number, amount, or time – used especially when the number or amount is surprisingly large or the time is very late : It was close to midnight by the time we arrived. | They’ve spent close to $1.3 billion on the project.

approaching/nearing almost – used when a number or amount is still increasing or a time is getting nearer : The unemployment rate was nearing 20%.

be on the verge of (doing) something to be very close to doing something : She was on the verge of tears (= almost crying ) . | I was on the verge of giving up. | They were on the verge of making a decision.

be on the brink of something to be very close to an extremely bad situation : The two countries are on the brink of war. | The company was on the brink of bankruptcy.