not nearly
idiom
: much less than : not at all
There's not nearly enough flour for a cake here.
It's not nearly as late as I thought it was.
Examples of not nearly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The state maintains more than 3,000 ungated crossings, and although Texas receives about $20 million a year in federal funding to improve them, that amount is not nearly enough to upgrade every dangerous location.
—
Brian New, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
While cash flow results did miss expectations, the misses were minor, not nearly enough to cause concern given the positive dynamics elsewhere, particularly in Bioprocessing, which is key to management’s outlook on the year.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2026
The rematch was not nearly as close.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026
Some, companies, not nearly enough, also cut executive paychecks.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for not nearly
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Brian New, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
While cash flow results did miss expectations, the misses were minor, not nearly enough to cause concern given the positive dynamics elsewhere, particularly in Bioprocessing, which is key to management’s outlook on the year.
—Zev Fima, CNBC, 28 Jan. 2026
The rematch was not nearly as close.
—Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026
Some, companies, not nearly enough, also cut executive paychecks.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for not nearly
Cite this Entry
“Not nearly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not%20nearly. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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