somehow

[ suhm-hou ]

adverb

1. in some way not specified, apparent, or known.

somehow

/ ˈsʌmˌhaʊ /

adverb

1. in some unspecified way
2. Alsosomehow or other by any means that are necessary

Word History and Origins

Origin of somehow¹

First recorded in 1655–65; some + how ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. somehow or other, in an undetermined way; by any means possible:

   She was determined to finish college somehow or other.

More idioms and phrases containing somehow

see under or other .

Example Sentences

Something happens to him where he looks at her, somehow she becomes beautiful, and his scars are gone.

From Salon

Things move fast and somehow both bizarrely and believably so at the start of this somewhat peculiar but endearing indie directed by Crystal Moselle and Harden.

From New York Times

The former frontman of Possum Dixon will be performing at the festival but is somehow not the most outrageous act on the bill.

From Los Angeles Times

Fourteen games into the year, these kinds of nights are starting to stack up for Knecht, who somehow was available to the Lakers at the No. 17 draft pick.

From Los Angeles Times

The researchers assumed the brain's frontal cortex, which orchestrates complex thoughts and behaviors, was somehow communicating to a brainstem region called the medulla, which controls automatic breathing.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• anyway