as in almost
very close to but not completely
it was well-nigh dark, but I could still see a little
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Recent Examples of well-nigh
Right now, though, a coherent A.I. policy seems well-nigh inconceivable.
—
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
In my book, Peter Seidler was a model citizen, a well-nigh heroic one.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 21 Nov. 2023
John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
In my book, Peter Seidler was a model citizen, a well-nigh heroic one.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 21 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for well-nigh
Adverb
-
States, and now nonstate actors, have been engaging in wars of various kinds almost constantly since World War II.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
This is one of the most popular portable heated blankets on Amazon, with almost 500 perfect ratings.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Besides being one of the best ways to stay warm, puffer jackets are also unbelievably packable, much like this Eddie Bauer down jacket that has insulation for chilly days but can be folded or rolled to practically half its size.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The key to detecting them, then, wasn’t to simply build a detector sensitive enough to see each individual neutrino; that would be a practically impossible task.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
28 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Gehl and his staff still have had to intervene when kids have misbehaved over the course of the brewery's nearly decade in business.—
Jordyn Noennig,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
In Michigan, where nearly 13% of households receive SNAP benefits, news of the pause had families, from Detroit to Interlochen, preparing to go to food pantries and worried about what's to come.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
And in a move with virtually no precedent in rock history, NIN completed the band swap by hiring Freese to replace Rubin.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
-
From virtually the moment he was hired, Lewis embraced the rivalry with the Bulldogs and the trophy that goes with it.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Well-nigh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/well-nigh. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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