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SOME
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Relatively many but unspecified in number
Example:
we did not meet again for some years
Classified under:
Similar:
many (a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by 'as' or 'too' or 'so' or 'that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Relatively much but unspecified in amount or extent
Example:
he was still some distance away
Classified under:
Similar:
much ((quantifier used with mass nouns) great in quantity or degree or extent)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Example:
she is some skier
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
extraordinary (beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))
Sense 4
Meaning:
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
Example:
some paper
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
any; whatever; whatsoever (one or some or every or all without specification)
both ((used with count nouns) two considered together; the two)
several ((used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many)
Also:
many (a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by 'as' or 'too' or 'so' or 'that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number)
few (a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by 'a'; a small but indefinite number)
Antonym:
all ((quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class)
no ((quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of)
II. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct
Example:
20 or so people were at the party
Synonyms:
about; approximately; around; close to; just about; more or less; or so; roughly; some
Classified under:
Context examples:
To do nothing whatever. There will probably be some small unpleasantness. Do not join in it.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Here was some thing, not wood nor iron, upon which to wreak his hate.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Would you like to drink some water?
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Some judged her to be cold and hard; but such a thought was treason.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Her daily expressions were no longer, “I wish we had some acquaintance in Bath!”
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
More than I can recollect in a moment; but I can tell you some.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
I shall come and see your mother some fine day.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Clerval continued talking for some time about our mutual friends and his own good fortune in being permitted to come to Ingolstadt.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
About noon I stopped at the captain's door with some cooling drinks and medicines.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
“For God’s sake,” he added, “find me some of the old.”
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)