not really
idiom
—used to say "no" in a way that is not very forceful or definite
"Was the movie good?" "Not really."
"Do you want to go to a movie?" "No, not really."
Examples of not really in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Indie Games Aren’t Even Indie Some have argued that indie games are a self-sustainable fallback from the aftermath of AAA, but unfortunately, that’s not really the case.
—
Ollie Barder, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
However, the market is not really concerned, based on Wednesday’s stock moves.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2025
The mainstream parties, which yesterday were very internationalist, very much tried to bet that the status quo was not really dead.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
Best Actress chances, should not really be shocking.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for not really
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ollie Barder, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
However, the market is not really concerned, based on Wednesday’s stock moves.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2025
The mainstream parties, which yesterday were very internationalist, very much tried to bet that the status quo was not really dead.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
Best Actress chances, should not really be shocking.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for not really
Cite this Entry
“Not really.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/not%20really. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share