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Definition of after all
1 : in spite of considerations or expectations to the contrary : nevertheless decided to take the train after all didn't rain after all
2 : in view of all circumstances
literature which is after all only a special department of reading— W. W. Watt
Examples of after all in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web This is, at heart, a romantic comedy, after all, so good luck with that.
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Bill Goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, "‘Palm Springs’ is perfect for pandemic viewing," 10 July 2020 America, after all, is a country where the cities are 60 miles apart, the people are six feet tall, and the trucks are 60 feet long.
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Michael Jordan, Car and Driver, "Tested: 1982 Honda City Makes a Case for Minicars in America," 9 July 2020 This isn't the name of Washington's football team, after all.
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cleveland, "Changing the Indians name isn’t about you, so get over it: Joey Morona," 6 July 2020 How many mothers, after all, are willing to play the wicked witch, to take whatever blame their adult children need to pile on them, and not insist on being forgiven or understood?
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Lidija Haas, The New Republic, "Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Ingenious Families," 2 July 2020 Homes are empty throughout the day, after all, so why not rent them out to fellow workers who may want a more intimate setting for a coffee meeting or phone call than a Starbucks?
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David Oliver, USA TODAY, "Need to escape your house for an hour? This company lets you rent a space for a short time," 1 July 2020 You guys aren’t tired of each other after all that time together on a boat?
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Julie Beck, The Atlantic, "Stuck at Sea in the Middle of a Pandemic," 26 June 2020 Because heroin, after all, is an opioid, and prescription painkillers were getting increasingly harder to get.
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Sarah Haselhorst, The Enquirer, "Under a challenge of constitutionality, the future of Casey's Law is cloaked and uncertain," 10 July 2020 Simple, after all, is not a word immunologists would ever use to describe their field.
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Gregory Barber, Wired, "Covid-19 Immunity May Rely on a Microscopic Helper: T Cells," 10 July 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'after all.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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The first known use of after all was in 1590
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