well-nigh

adverb

ˈwel-ˈnī 

: almost, nearly

well-nigh impossible

Synonyms

• about
• all but
• almost
• borderline
• fair [chiefly British]
• fairly
• feckly [chiefly Scottish]
• more or less
• most
• much
• near
• nearly
• next to
• nigh
• practically
• somewhere
• virtually

Examples of well-nigh in a Sentence

it was well-nigh dark, but I could still see a little

Recent Examples on the Web

In my book, Peter Seidler was a model citizen, a well-nigh heroic one. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 21 Nov. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

well-nigh

adverb

-ˈnī

: almost, nearly