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Dana Hendam
What is the difference between "not exactly" and "not especially"?
Jun 8, 2022 10:27 PM
Answers · 4
Noralyn helps improve my English level. She was open-minded and clear in giving corrections especially on some of my grammatical mistakes and mispronounced words. She is very patient and never gets tired of giving specific corrections. She is very good! I highly recommend her!
June 13, 2022
Not especially—used to say that one is not very interested in doing something.
"Would you like to go to a movie?"
"No, not especially."
informal.
Not Exactly —used in speech as a mild way of saying "no" especially to indicate that what someone has said is not completely correct or true
"He's your boss, isn't he?" -"Not exactly."
"Did everything go the way you planned it?"-"Not exactly."
I hope this helps ☺️
June 9, 2022
Hi Dana!
Like Michael said, it's a subtle difference. They're very similar.
When you say "not especially", it means the subject is likely true, but not *very* true. It is more about a *degree* of something. An example:
"It's not especially hot today" meaning: it's hot today, but *not very hot* (and may be a little cool).
If you say "It's not exactly hot today", the meaning is more: it's definitely not hot (and probably is cool).
They're very similar, and you can usually use them interchangeably. It's just a subtle difference.
Hope that helps!
June 9, 2022
I don't see much of a difference, they are pretty much the same
June 8, 2022
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Dana Hendam
Language Skills
Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin)
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin)
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