anyway

[ en-ee-wey ]

See synonyms for anyway on Thesaurus.com

adverb

in any case; anyhow; nonetheless; regardless: Whether you like it or not, I'm going anyway.
(used to continue or resume the thread of a story or account): Anyway, we finally found a plumber who could come right over.

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Origin of anyway

First recorded in 1150–1200, anyway is from Middle English ani wei. See any, way¹

Also Nonstandard, an·y·ways [en-ee-weyz] /ˈɛn iˌweɪz/ .

usage note For anyway

The adverb anyway is spelled as one word: It was snowing hard, but we drove to the play anyway. The two-word phrase any way means “in any manner”: Finish the job any way you choose. If the words “in the” can be substituted for “any,” the two-word phrase is called for: Finish the job in the way you choose. If the substitution cannot be made, the spelling is anyway.

Words Nearby anyway

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use anyway in a sentence

In secret, before the referendum, the council went ahead and fluoridated the water anyway.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers | Michael Schulson | July 27, 2016 | THE DAILY BEAST
Except for maybe his brainiac wife… but she could do better anyway.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Melissa Leon | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Like, the party was definitely over, but we just kept taking drugs anyway [laughs].
Deer Tick's John McCauley on Ten Years in Rock and Roll | James Joiner | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
“Most people are focused on the holidays anyway,” she continued, before adding something about people liking Cuban sandwiches.
How Will Cuba Play In Peoria? | Eleanor Clift | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The FBI did not immediately seem interested in pushing the matter, publicly anyway.
Cuba Protects America’s Most Wanted | Michael Daly | December 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

The patriarchal decree of the government was a good deal of a joke on the plains, anyway—except when you were caught defying it!
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
I always try to do the right thing, but, anyway, these arms and hands would do good of their own accord.
Uncanny Tales | Various
anyway there was a lot of embroidery on it, full of little holes, which somehow contrived to be extraordinarily fetching.
Rosemary in Search of a Father | C. N. Williamson
It is suggested, too, that patents are pending that may make outside aerials unnecessary, anyway.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret Penrose
anyway, if I did, the whole family would want to know why, and I don't suppose you want to tell them that yet.
First Plays | A. A. Milne

British Dictionary definitions for anyway

anyway

/ (ˈɛnɪˌweɪ) /

adverb

in any case; at any rate; nevertheless; anyhow
in a careless or haphazard manner

Usually any way . in any manner; by any means

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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