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

Five games clearly do not have enough time to tell if that will become a reality, but of course, high expectations can come with heavy criticism for not exactly performing as most would assume coming out of college. —Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025

Brenden Aaronson has not exactly been prolific in front of goal during his time in the Premier League for Leeds United. —Beren Cross, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

Turns out, that’s not exactly true. —Mara Santilli, Flow Space, 8 Oct. 2025

While spring planting may not exactly be on your mind as leaves fall and pumpkins appear, October is a good time to put bulbs in the ground before winter. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025

Rhymes for not exactly

• abstractly