not exactly

idiom

informal

—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."

—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

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Whether Tammy was a sympathetic victim or a crass criminal seemed to depend on the scene and the song, and unfortunately, those songs from a composer by the name of Elton John were not exactly praise-worthy. —

Ew Staff, EW.com, 11 Dec. 2024 The other is that broccoli casserole is not exactly a difficult dish to make. —

Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2024 The book’s September release, just two months ahead of the all-important (and all-too-close) 2024 Presidential Election, was not exactly coincidence. —

Gabby Shacknai, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 Boeing has been plagued by missteps and delays all year, and despite appointing new leadership, the CEO of one of its biggest customers is not exactly doing cartwheels. —

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for not exactly