by no means

by no means

Not in any way; not at all; absolutely not. A: "Tell me the truth: you thought that the play was awful." B: "By no means! It wasn't perfect, but I definitely enjoyed it." By no means shall our country be drawn into yet another war overseas.

See also: by, mean, no

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

by no means

absolutely not; certainly not. I'm by no means angry with you. Bob: Did you put this box here? Tom: By no means. I didn't do it, I'm sure.

See also: by, mean, no

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

by no means

Also, not by any means. In no way, certainly not. For example, He is by no means a weak opponent, or Not by any means will I go along with that decision. [Late 1400s]

See also: by, mean, no

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

by ˈno (manner of) means

,

not by ˈany (manner of) means

in no way at all; definitely not: She is by no means poor, believe me. She only pretends to be. ♢ He hasn’t won yet, not by any manner of means.

See also: by, mean, no

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

by no means

In no sense; certainly not: This remark by no means should be taken lightly.

See also: by, mean, no

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.