just
advunstressed /d͡ʒ(ə)s(t)/
Etymology From Middle English juste, from Old French juste, from Latin iūstus (“just, lawful, rightful, true, due, proper, moderate”), from Proto-Italic *jowestos, related to Latin iūs (“law, right”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-. Compare Scots juist (“just”), Saterland Frisian juust (“just”), West Frisian just (“just”), Dutch juist (“just”), German Low German jüst (“jüst”), German just (“just”), Danish just (“just”), Swedish just (“just”). Doublet of giusto.
9 senses
- 1Only, simply, merely.
- 2Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that…
- 3Used to reduce the force of an imperative; simply.
- 4Used to increase the force of an imperative; simply…
- 5Used to convey a less serious or formal tone
- 6Absolutely, positively.
- 7Moments ago, only very recently.
- 8By a narrow margin; closely; narrowly; almost not.
- 9Exactly, precisely, perfectly.
1
Only, simply, merely.
- Just plant a few tomatoes, unless you can freeze or dry them.
- He calls it vermilion, but it's just red to me.
3 more examples
- Philander went into the next room, which was just a lean-to hitched on to the end of the shanty, and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much.[…] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
- Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths.2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
2
Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.
- I spent two hours cooking my favorite recipe, just to burn the rice and ruin the meal.
- I helped him out, just for him to betray me.
3
Used to reduce the force of an imperative; simply.
Sentence adverb
- Just follow the directions on the box.
4
Used to increase the force of an imperative; simply, without questioning.
Sentence adverb
- I'm tired of playing games – just get it done.
5
Used to convey a less serious or formal tone
- I just called to say "hi".
6
Absolutely, positively.
- It is just splendid!
- just fine
› Barely, hardly, scarcely.
7
Moments ago, only very recently.
- They just left, but you may leave a message at the desk.
- Philander went into the next room[…]and came back with a salt mackerel[…]. Next he put the mackerel in a fry-pan, and the shanty began to smell like a Banks boat just in from a v'yage.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
8
By a narrow margin; closely; narrowly; almost not.
- The fastball just missed my head!
- The fire department arrived just in time.
2 more examples
- The piece just might fit.
- Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
9
Exactly, precisely, perfectly.
- He wants everything just right for the big day.
- And having just enough, not covet more.1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fourteenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:
3 more examples
- The god Pan […] guided my hand so just to the heart of the beast.c. 1580 (date written), Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “[The Second Booke] Chapter 19”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC, folio 122, recto:
- To-night, at Herne's oak, just 'twixt twelve and one.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:
- Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
- Synonyms
- merely, simply, freshly, lately, newly, barely, hardly, narrowly, scarcely, on the dot, smack-dab
- Derived terms
70 terms
a cigar is just a cigar, age is just a number, denial ain't just a river in Egypt, denial is not just a river in Egypt, denial isn't just a river in Egypt, die just how one lived, die just like one lived, die just the way one lived, I just work here, is it just me, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me, it is always darkest just before the dawn, it is darkest just before the dawn, it is not just you, just about, just a minute, just another pretty face, just a sec, just a second, just as soon as, just assume, just as well, just because, just ducky, just enough, just folks, just friends, just gone, just in, just in case, just in time, just-in-time, just kidding, just like that, just my luck, just now, just on, just one of those things, just plain folks, just saying, just say no, just shoot me, just so, just-so story, just then, just the same, just the ticket, just what the doctor ordered, just wondering, just yet, just you wait, my very easy method just speeds up naming planets, my very educated mother just served us nachos, my very educated mother just served us nine pizzas, my very educated mother just served us nine pumpkins, my very educated mother just served us noodles, my very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas, not just another pretty face, not just a pretty face, only just, over-just, shit just got real, so crazy it just might work, so crazy it might just work, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, that's just me, the darkest hour is always just before the dawn, the darkest hour is just before the dawn, this just in, you just had to