well-nigh
1
8.4
- adverb
- /wɛl-naɪ/
- Archaic
- For the asthmatic, passionate love is well-nigh impossible.
- well-nigh impossible
Examples
-
Once the disruption happens, it's well-nigh impossible to secure critical resources.
Academic text (2011) -
His grades were well-nigh perfect.
Fiction book (1999) -
Well-nigh impossible to follow on these rocks.
-
Myths are so numerous and diverse that any exhaustive treatment of them, even in relation to one single topic, is well-nigh impossible.
Academic text (1990) -
But changing course via the body politic appears to be well-nigh impossible, given that much of the populace lives in denial.
Blog text (22) -
Evidently, sweeping so many disparate elements into the popular culture grab bag has made this task well-nigh impossible.
Academic text (1990) -
On a holiday, when he might have been pleasure-bent, he was mulling about the office, though it was well-nigh deserted when the boss came in.
Academic text (1991) -
Unless moderate elements can prevail and networks of reciprocity and political exchange relations can gain a firm hold among these elites, the return to normality will prove well-nigh impossible, and society will be trapped in a destructive environment.
Academic text (1995) -
Between these battles lay the snows of Valley Forge, where the people were depressed, the army well-nigh demoralized, many had lost hope, and the fortunes of freedom were at their lowest ebb.
Academic text (1992) -
Winning nine or ten straight is well-nigh impossible.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Not exact but near a number, amount, or time
∞
1.0
Nearly but not completely
∞
2.1
To some degree but not completely
∞
1.0
Almost but not completely
∞
3.0
Almost completely but not quite
915
2.7
Almost right, but not exactly
634
2.5
Almost but not completely
578
3.6
Almost complete but not fully finished
301
2.1
About a number or idea, not exact but close enough
111
1.0
Almost happening or becoming true
23
9.9
Very near in time, place, or degree
1
9.4
Almost exactly right
Antonyms
How Complete
Surface Forms
Morphology
well-nigh = nigh (transparent) = well + nigh
The combination of the intensifier 'well' and 'nigh' (near/almost) straightforwardly yields the meaning 'almost'; the components and their semantic roles are obvious to learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'well' from base_words to prefix]
Etymology
Well-nigh comes from the parts well (used like 'very') and nigh which means 'near', just like the modern word 'near'. So well-nigh literally means 'very near', and that is why we use it to say 'almost' or 'nearly'.