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Almost vs Majority - What's the difference?

almost | majority |

As nouns the difference between almost and majority

is that almost is (informal) something or someone that doesn't quite make it while majority is more than half (50%) of some group.

As an adverb almost

is very close to, but not quite.

almost

English

Alternative forms

* (Jamaican English)

Adverb

(-)
  • Very close to, but not quite.
    • Almost all people went there. - Not all but very close to it.
    We almost missed the train. - Not missed but very close to it.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.}}
  • * , chapter=17
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything. In a moment she had dropped to the level of a casual labourer.}}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=9 citation , passage=Eustace gaped at him in amazement. When his urbanity dropped away from him, as now, he had an innocence of expression which was almost infantile. It was as if the world had never touched him at all.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-17, author=George Monbiot, authorlink=George Monbiot
    • , title=Money just makes the rich suffer , volume=188, issue=23, page=19, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) citation , passage=In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […]  The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.}}

    Synonyms

    * nearly, nigh, well-nigh, near, close to, next to, practically, virtually

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (informal) Something or someone that doesn't quite make it.
    • In all the submissions, they found four papers that were clearly worth publishing and another dozen almosts .

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * English degree adverbs

    majority

    English

    (wikipedia majority)

    Noun

    (majorities)
  • More than half (50%) of some group
    • The majority agreed that the new proposal was the best.
    Those opposing the building plans were in the majority , so the building project was canceled.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1920, title=, author=Champ Clark
    • , passage=But in 1912 the American people gave the Democrats another opportunity, and under the leadership of Woodrow Wilson we swept the country from sea to sea. At the end of that historic contest we had the Presidency, the Senate by a working majority, and the House by an overwhelming majority.}}
  • The difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes
    • The winner with 53% had a 6% majority over the loser with 47%.
  • (dated) Legal adulthood
    • By the time I reached my majority , I had already been around the world twice.
  • (UK) The office held by a member of the armed forces in the rank of major
    • On receiving the news of his promotion, Charles Snodgrass said he was delighted to be entering his majority .
  • Ancestors; ancestry.

    • Usage notes

    * Majority in the sense of "more than half" is used with countable nouns only; for example, "The majority of the members of the committee were in favour of the motion." It is incorrect to use with it uncountable nouns, as in "The majority of the world is covered with water." In the latter case, it is preferable to use expressions such as "the larger part of" or "most of" instead of the "the majority of",

    Antonyms

    * (more than half) minority

    Derived terms

    * by a majority * dictatorship of the majority * double majority * majority leader * majority rule * silent majority * simple majority * supermajority * tyranny of the majority

    Related terms

    * major * plurality

    See also

    * most