Meaning

3 senses

  1. (not comparable)With a comparative or with more and a verb phrase, establishes a correlation with one or more other such comparatives.

    The hotter(,) the better. (comma usually omitted in such very short expressions)

    The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.

  2. (not comparable)With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none.

    It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.

    It was a difficult time, and I’m {none - not any} the wiser for it.

    umso

  3. (not comparable)Beyond all others.

    We went the furthest under her leadership.

    They trusted him the most.

Examples

434465 sentences

  1. Close the door when you leave.

    Зачини двері, коли будеш іти. — deniko

    ruЗакрой дверь, когда будешь уходить. — marafon

    deSchließ beim Hinausgehen die Türe. — MUIRIEL

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. I'm getting ready for the worst.

    Готуюся до найгіршого. — marko

    ruЯ готовлюсь к худшему. — stariy

    deIch bereite mich auf das Schlimmste vor... — MUIRIEL

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. They forgot to lock the door.

    Вони забули замкнути двері. — deniko

    ruОни забыли запереть дверь. — ReggaeOn

    deSie haben vergessen, die Tür abzuschließen. — MUIRIEL

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. You should tell him the truth.

    Ти повинен розповісти йому правду. — deniko

    ruТы должен был сказать ему правду. — shanghainese

    deIhr solltet ihm die Wahrheit sagen. — MUIRIEL

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · A2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. You should have attended the meeting.

    Ти мусив би відвідати зустріч. — deniko

    deDu hättest zur Versammlung gehen sollen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

2 languages
Deutsch
By meaning 1
indicating a result like the comparative:

Origin

From Middle English the, thy, thi, from Old English þē̆, probably a neuter instrumental fo

From Middle English the, thy, thi, from Old English þē̆, probably a neuter instrumental form ("by that, thereby")—alongside the more common þȳ and þon—of the demonstrative pronoun sē ("that"). Compare Dutch des te ("the, the more"), German desto ("the, all the more"), Norwegian fordi and Norwegian av di ("because"), Icelandic því (“the; because”), Faroese tí, Swedish ty.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Word family

2 related words
DerivedneverthelessB1nonethelessB1

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
thatchthatcherthawtheaterA1theatreA1theatrical

Dictionary 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.

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