only
Meaning
-
- Alone in a category.
- Singularly superior; the best.
- Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender.
- (obsolete) Mere.
Synonyms
no more than
only one
only when
not more than
place to leave off
closing sentence
all there is
no more and no less
none but
not before
nothing else
nothing more
not until
only then
small quantity
only that
that’s all
just keeps
provided that
only for
particle of affirmation
emphatic modifier
no reason
single person
there’s only
only now
one only
for all that
just enough
just that
Frequency
Hyphenated as
on‧ly
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈəʊn.li/
Etymology
From Middle English oonly, onli, onlych, onelich, anely, from Old English ānlīċ, ǣnlīċ (“like; similar; equal”), from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz, equivalent to one + -ly. Cognate with obsolete Dutch eenlijk, German ähnlich (“similar”), Old Norse álíkr, Swedish enlig (“unified”). Regarding the different phonological development of only and one, see the note in one.
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