DictionaryAI

anyway

adverb
EN-ee-way/ˈɛniweɪ/

5 meanings of anyway

Practice

  1. 1
    regardlessadverb
    Regardless of what has just been said or what might prevent something; in any case.

    The forecast called for storms, but the crew launched the boat anyway.

    Nobody asked for my opinion, but I'll give it anyway.

    UsageUsually ends the clause, often after but: tired, but went anyway. Not the same as any way, meaning by any method.

    Similarregardless, anyhow, nevertheless, nonetheless

    Note

    Built plainly from any + way, the word first meant "in any way" (the obsolete manner sense) before it took on this concessive job. Raymond Carver, worn down by day jobs and drinking, "wrote anyway", and the word carries that note of defiance.

  2. 2
    change topicadverb
    Used to signal a change of subject or a return to an earlier topic of conversation.

    Anyway, let's get back to the budget question.

    I could complain about traffic all day. Anyway, did you ever find an apartment?

    UsageUsually starts its sentence, followed by a comma (Anyway, ...), most often after a side remark.

    Similaranyhow

    Note

    In Jan Karon's These High, Green Hills, a speaker drops the subject of her age mid-breath: "Anyway, we're going to have you and Cynthia up for supper."

  3. 3
    in questionsadverb
    Used at the end of a question for emphasis, or to steer the conversation toward a point of broader importance.

    Who invited him, anyway?

    We've spent an hour arguing over fonts. What's the actual deadline, anyway?

    UsageUsually last in a question, after a comma (..., anyway?). It can sound impatient or blunt.

    Similaranyhow

    Note

    Tacked onto a question, it adds impatience or presses toward the real issue, much as more to the point does. Jack London's "Who's making this punch, anyway?" (1899) brushes off an objection; in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, "Where is he, anyway?" turns the talk to what matters.

  4. 4
    supporting pointadverb
    Used to mark a statement that explains or supports what was said just before it.

    The recipe should work; it did when I tried it, anyway.

    Nobody seemed upset by the schedule change. Nobody said so, anyway.

    UsageUsually comes last, after the claim it supports; when it limits that claim, at least could replace it: that's what he said, anyway.

    Similaranyhow

    Note

    Often a hedge rather than an act of defiance: it trails after a claim and quietly shrinks it to what the speaker can vouch for, as in "I haven't found any evidence, anyway." There at least can replace it; regardless cannot, which is how to tell it from the "regardless" meaning. It can also add a plain supporting reason: "We never talked much anyway."

Less common meaning

  1. 5
    in whatever wayadverbobsolete
    In any way; by any means.
    Note

    A relic of the word's literal origin, still visible in Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, where a sleeper is "in suspense, fear, anyway troubled in mind." Modern English writes this meaning as two words, any way, or says in any way. The solid spelling now does only sentence-level work, so using it for manner today would read as a mistake.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The meaning ‘in any way’ reflects the word’s literal formation from any and way. en.wiktionary.org
    • Robert Burton wrote The Anatomy of Melancholy. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quoted wording occurs in The Anatomy of Melancholy in a discussion of sleep. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of anyway apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Formed from "any" plus "way."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact