not exactly
idiom
informal
1
—used in speech as a mild way of saying "no" especially to indicate that what someone has said is not completely correct or true
"He's your boss, isn't he?" "Not exactly."
"Did everything go the way you planned it?" "Not exactly."
2
—used as a humorous or ironic way to say "not"
He's not exactly the smartest guy I've ever met.
Examples of not exactly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This season’s Supercopa de Espana will, like five of the previous six, be held in Saudi Arabia — another destination not exactly starved of the sight of world-class sports these days.
—
Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
This new generation did not exactly want to work, and who could blame them?
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
They’re not exactly meant to be box office smashes.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 2025
Yet the hunt for the world’s oldest stories is not exactly triumphant.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
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Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
This new generation did not exactly want to work, and who could blame them?
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
They’re not exactly meant to be box office smashes.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 20 Oct. 2025
Yet the hunt for the world’s oldest stories is not exactly triumphant.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for not exactly
Cite this Entry
“Not exactly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not%20exactly. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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