somehow

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for somehow in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsʌmhaʊ/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Adverb

somehow (not comparable)

  1. In one way or another; in a way not yet known or explained; by some means
    This problem has to be tackled somehow.
    We don't know how he's still alive after the accident, but somehow he does.
    • (Can we date this quote?) George Cheyne
      By their action upon one another they may be swelled somehow, so as to shorten the length.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Sir Walter Scott
      Although youngest of the family, he has somehow or other got the entire management of all the others.
    • 1915, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price, chapterII:
      Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.

Usage notes

The indefiniteness of somehow is emphasized by the addition of or other.

Synonyms

Translations

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.