by no means
74
4.2
- idiom
- The process, which involves dozens of trucks, is by no means a gentle operation.
- by no means the only
- by no means exhaustive
- by no means limited
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Watch on YouTubeAnd these people were by no means fools or, or, or.
- And these people were by no means fools or, or, or.
- One way or another, Deng was by no means ready to retire.
- But these are by no means useless.
- But Republican Spain is by no means safe from regime change.
- Renters are by no means off the hook in this situation.
- So it's by no means perfect, but it is now harder.
- And by no means do I have extreme intellect.
- It's, it's, I mean, not, not to, you know, I'm, I'm by no means an Elon Musk, but.
- And we're we're by no means trying to, you know, push this on anybody.
- Now, I want to be clear, however, that these are by no means required.
Examples
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This was by no means a scientific survey.
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Now, I want to be clear, however, that these are by no means required.
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And we're we're by no means trying to, you know, push this on anybody.
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But it is by no means certain that my wife is any longer your friend.
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These lessons are powerful, but of course by no means are they easy.
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And this is by no means a universal value.
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But these are by no means useless.
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The amount of money involved, while by no means adequate for the need, was still significant.
Academic text (1990) -
All I'm saying is that it's by no means obvious.
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This was by no means a scientific survey.
Synonyms
29
4.2
Says that something must never happen in any situation
5
7.8
Say it to show you will never do something
3
5.6
It is not true or possible in any way
1
8.1
Not true or possible in any way
1
9.3
Not true at all
Antonyms
How Negative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'by' (prepositional marker), 'no' (negation) and 'means' (method/tool) combine to yield the sense 'by no method' → 'in no way/not at all', so a learner who knows the words can often infer the basic negative meaning. However, the fixed, slightly idiomatic word order and the somewhat formal/archaic use of 'by' make the exact emphatic usage less transparently predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
By no means comes from the image of a traveller who cannot find a path: by (by way) and means (a way) but there are no means — no way to go. So by no means means 'not at all'.