anyway

adverb

any·​way ˈe-nē-ˌwā How to pronounce anyway (audio)
1
: in any way whatever : anywise
2
: in any case : without regard to other considerations : anyhow
She knew it was dangerous, but she did it anyway.
3
: as an additional consideration or thought
We don't need a new car, and anyway, we can't afford one.

Examples of anyway in a Sentence

The road got worse, but they kept going anyway. I didn't expect her to say “yes,” but I asked her anyway. It makes no difference what we say. She's going to do what she wants anyway. He's far from perfect, but she loves him anyway.
Recent Examples on the Web So, the dinosaur was wind-rated up to 40 miles an hour of sustained wind — which is actually after the point that the festival would’ve closed down anyway, so there were no scenarios in which that was gonna have to be killed. Chris Willman, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024 But here goes, anyway: The Internal Revenue Service has issued nearly 66.8 million income tax refunds through April 5. Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 15 Apr. 2024 Allowing this notion will open the gate for any country to cynically use Article 51 in a reality where the U.N. Security Council is under a near-constant deadlock anyway. Gadi Ezra, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024 But also, this is the must public public display of affection possible, and everyone's filming everything at Coachella anyway. Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 15 Apr. 2024 Those tickets brought in comparatively little revenue anyway, the thinking goes, so why not just get more fans into the building, improving the atmosphere and converting some of them from casual supporters to die-hard ones? Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024 Well, in the ability to totally control the game on offense, anyway — there’s only one Zion. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024 The late sixties and early seventies were a good time for actors who looked nothing like Hollywood but went there anyway. Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2024 Advertisement While the municipal code doesn’t yet protect all instances of whistleblowing, city officials stress that all whistleblowers are afforded protections anyway. David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anyway.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of anyway was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near anyway

Cite this Entry

“Anyway.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anyway. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

anyway

adverb
any·​way ˈen-ē-ˌwā How to pronounce anyway (audio)
: anyhow

More from Merriam-Webster on anyway

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