by any/no stretch of the imagination

phrase

—used to emphasize that something is not true, does not happen, etc.

They're not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

By no stretch of the imagination does the factory operate efficiently.

Examples of by any/no stretch of the imagination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This isn’t a perfect experience, not by any stretch of the imagination, but what’s here is incredibly solid. — Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 26 Feb. 2026

The game wasn’t pretty on the eye by any stretch of the imagination, with most of the first half consisting of one-on-one matchups and back-and-forth basketball. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 6 Dec. 2025

Not only that, but his final stat line and performance were certainly not terrible by any stretch of the imagination. — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2025

That is not a terrible record by any stretch of the imagination, and the offense under Dak Prescott has been keeping the team in games. — James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025