only
Without others or anything furtherWithout others or anything further; exclusively.
» There's only a little milk left.
Es ist nur noch wenig Milch da. — Sudajaengi
Es ist nur ein bisschen Milch übrig. — Yorwba
Молока осталось совсем немного. — marafon
Лишилося лише трохи молока. — deniko
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
8 senses(not comparable)Without others or anything further; exclusively.
My heart is hers, and hers only.
I threw out only him.
nur, lediglich, allein
то́лькоtólʹko, лишьlišʹ
ті́лькиtílʹky, лише́lyšé
without any others being included or involved
(not comparable)No more than; just.
The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it.
If there were only one more ticket!
nur, lediglich
то́лькоtólʹko, лишьlišʹ
(not comparable)As recently as.
c. 1924-1955, anonymous, The Urantia Book Only yesterday did I feed you with bread for your bodies; today I offer you the bread of life for your hungry souls.
He left only moments ago.
erst
то́лькоtólʹko, всего́vsevó
as recently as
(not comparable)Emphasizing something that is just or necessary.
It's only fair to let him borrow your kite, after you've had his toys all day.
He'd been belittling her for years. It's only natural that she left.
(UK, not comparable)Used to express surprise or consternation at an action.
She's only gone and run off with the milkman!
(Ireland, informal, not comparable)Just, simply, undoubtedly.
Sure you're only gorgeous!
(not comparable)Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.
They rallied from a three-goal deficit only to lose in the final two minutes of play.
I spent years studying a degree only to learn there was no requirement for such a certification.
(not comparable, obsolete)Above all others; particularly.
Examples
17644 sentencesThere's only a little milk left.
Лишилося лише трохи молока. — deniko
ruМолока осталось совсем немного. — marafon
deEs ist nur noch wenig Milch da. — Sudajaengi
You gave me only fifty cents.
Ти дав мені лише п'ятдесят центів. — Anjy
ruВы дали мне только пятьдесят центов. — marafon
deDu hast mir nur fünfzig Cent gegeben. — driini
I can only speak for myself.
Я можу говорити лише за себе. — deniko
ruЯ могу говорить только за себя. — marafon
deIch kann nur für mich sprechen. — MUIRIEL
If only he had been there.
Якби ж тільки він там був! — deniko
ruЕсли бы он только был там. — odexed
She has buried her only son.
Вона поховала свого єдиного сина. — aandrusiak
ruОна похоронила единственного сына. — marafon
deSie hat ihren einzigen Sohn beerdigt. — Wolf
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”From Middle English oonly, only, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“only; singular; solitary”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). By surface analysis, on(e) + -ly.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Synonyms
8 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- C1Inversion: advanced patterns — Because the lesson uses it
- A2Adverbs of manner — Because it is an -ly adverb
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.