anything but

Idioms

By no means, not at all, as in He is anything but ambitious for a promotion. William Wordsworth in his long poem, The Prelude (1805–1806), wrote: “Grief call it not, 'twas anything but that.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

From a distance, the tall grass made the terrain look smooth, but it was anything but: full of rocks and roots and tiny coarse bushes grabbing at your feet.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Maggie’s stay in New York City was anything but brief.

From Literature

Despite the faith’s promises of worldwide harmony, the year 1859 found the United States anything but peaceful.

From Literature

Though there is still plenty of room for this new fair to grow, it, like the notable work at Felix, proves that the best contemporary art being shown in L.A. is anything but superficial.

From The Wall Street Journal

It always made me feel bad when he did this because I never intended to be anything but a hunter or an explorer; and I couldn’t see where arithmetic had anything to do with that.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023