The difference between Almost and Approximately

When used as adverbs, almost means very close to, but not quite, whereas approximately means imprecise but close to in quantity or amount.

Almost is also noun with the meaning: something or someone that doesn't quite make it.

check bellow for the other definitions of Almost and Approximately

  1. Almost as an adverb:

    Very close to, but not quite.

    Examples:

    "Almost all people went there.'' - Not all but very close to it."

    "We almost missed the train.'' - Not missed but very close to it."

  1. Almost as a noun (informal):

    Something or someone that doesn't quite make it.

    Examples:

    "In all the submissions, they found four papers that were clearly worth publishing and another dozen almosts."

  1. Approximately as an adverb:

    Imprecise but close to in quantity or amount.

    Examples:

    "In every box of matches there are approximately 40 matchsticks."

    "Per 100g of chocolate there are approximately 11.6g of saturated fat."

    "...approximately 60 beats per minute."

Compare words:

Compare with synonyms and related words: