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only too. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
only too, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
only too in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
only too you have here. The definition of the word
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only too, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Adverb
only too (not comparable)
- (before adjective) very, all too.
1922, Stephen McKenna, The Confessions of a Well-Meaning Woman:In a crisis I am only too well aware that I am always left to find a way out, but that night I felt hardly adequate even to ordinary conversation
1913, Kenneth Grahame, chapter 10, in The Wind in the Willows:After some miles of country lanes he reached the high road, and as he turned into it and glanced along its white length, he saw approaching him a speck that turned into a dot and then into a blob, and then into something very familiar; and a double note of warning, only too well known, fell on his delighted ear.
- (before adverb) to a high degree; very well or very much
2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian:Cities were not built to handle this volume of last-mile activity – a fact that firms such as UPS realise only too well.
2014, Trina Chako, Sisters:You understand?”
“Only too well.” Sudhir said wryly.
Collocations
Often used in combination with "well", where this expression normally collocates with adjectives and verbs connected to understanding and knowledge:
- know only too well
- understand only too well
- be only too aware
- comprehend only too well
- remember only too well
See also