How to Use anything but in a Sentence

anything but

idiom
Definition of anything butnext
  • But as the Celtics will tell you, for the last seven-plus years, it’s been anything but.
    — Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 18 June 2024
  • All of this brought a calm to a week that can sometimes be anything but.
    — Simbarashe Cha, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
  • The smiles and nods at home when things were anything but normal.
    — Eli Cahan, The New Republic, 10 July 2023
  • For most people who write for film and TV, the gigs are anything but steady.
    — Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023
  • There were times when the journey was anything but smooth.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2023
  • But No Scope makes clear that the path from here is anything but assured.
    — Addie Morfoot, Variety, 14 May 2024
  • At the same time, though, the property is anything but hoity-toity.
    — Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Across the aisle, the nascent Unión por la Patria is anything but united.
    — Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 16 July 2023
  • Word has been out for some time now: A freeway is anything but free.
    — William Camargo, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2023
  • This week, at least, was probably anything but a blast for the founder.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 28 Apr. 2023
  • That defense was anything but fun for Reading in the first half.
    — Trevor Hass, BostonGlobe.com, 13 June 2023
  • But what Apfel chose to do was anything but shrink herself.
    — Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2024
  • But this wet season in the Bay Area has been anything but normal.
    — Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 May 2023
  • Okay, that was cheesy, but her latest look was anything but.
    — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 28 Oct. 2023
  • But times have been anything but typical for the past three years.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Shopping for coasters might not be the most thrilling, but these are anything but dull.
    — Cristian Esteban, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2024
  • But even if the Green Sahara is a thing of the past, the desert today is anything but desolate.
    — Nick Roll, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2023
  • The former Raiders starter, 32, admitted the Big Easy has been anything but for him.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Oct. 2023
  • The fiscal year is over — but the Biden border crisis is anything but.
    — Mark Green, National Review, 27 Oct. 2023
  • Jeremy Allen White The look might be quiet luxe, but the overhaul of Lawrence’s wardrobe in the past year has been anything but shy.
    — Carol McColgin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Simple will work just fine for Bryant after a year that was anything but.
    — oregonlive, 2 Sep. 2023
  • That’s just a fool’s errand and a great way to ensure this season is anything but charmed.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 June 2024
  • And Scott’s time in Washington has been anything but smooth.
    — Philip Elliott, TIME, 6 May 2024
  • But rehearsing for the show has been anything but a horror show.
    — Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Focus lock can keep your phone from trying to focus on anything but the eclipse.
    — William Neff, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2024
  • But the weekend-long gathering proved to be anything but that.
    — Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2023
  • Kacey Musgraves fans are happy and (anything but) sad now that the country singer is hitting the road.
    — Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Many of their telescopes are designed to look at the faintest and dimmest targets, but the Blaze Star nova will be anything but faint.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2024
  • But the journey since has been anything but effortless.
    — Erica Sloan, SELF, 5 Aug. 2024
  • Jensen cast women over the age of 45 and put them in layered tulle dresses; floral smock dresses; capes that touched the floor, and footwear that’s anything but ordinary in metallic silver and clunky architectural shapes.
    — Hikmat Mohammed, WWD, 12 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anything but.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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