When determining the meaning of a word, we typically refer to a dictionary. This could be a general-purpose dictionary like the Oxford Dictionary of English, or a specialized one if the word pertains to a specific field, such as botany, economics, or oncology.
To select the most appropriate word from a group of synonyms, we might use a thesaurus. However, some words are so close in meaning that they seem interchangeable. Take “almost” and “nearly” as an example. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English:
- Almost: Not quite, very nearly
- Nearly: Very close to, almost
Despite their definitions being similar, there can be little differences in their usage.
Göran Kjellmer from Göteborg University investigated the differences between the words “almost” and “nearly” by examining their usage patterns.
His research revealed that while the meanings of the two words are similar, they differ significantly in their collocations—the types of words that commonly follow them.
Specifically, “almost” is often followed by adverbs (e.g., “almost certainly”), adjectives (e.g., “almost impossible”), pronouns (e.g., “almost anything”), and prepositions (e.g., “almost by definition”).
In contrast, “nearly” is more frequently followed by numbers (e.g., “nearly 200 people”).
Additionally, “almost” is not used with negation in comparative constructions. For instance, while you might say “A is almost as good as B,” the phrase “A is not almost as good as B” is not idiomatic. Instead, you should say “A is not nearly as good as B.”
