I. DISCOURSE USES
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to suggest that what comes just after or just before it in the sentence is rather surprising.
He kept calling me for years, ~ after he got married...
Even dark-skinned women should use sunscreens...
I cannot come to a decision about it now or ~ give any indication of my own views...
He didn’t ~ hear what I said.
ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v
2.
You use ~ with comparative adjectives and adverbs to emphasize a quality that someone or something has.
It was on television that he made an ~ stronger impact as an interviewer...
Stan was speaking ~ more slowly than usual.
ADV: ADV compar emphasis
3.
You use ~ if or ~ though to indicate that a particular fact does not make the rest of your statement untrue.
Cynthia is not ashamed of what she does, ~ if she ends up doing something wrong...
Even though I’m supposed to be working by myself, there are other people who I can interact with.
PHRASE
4.
If one thing happens ~ as something else happens, they both happen at exactly the same time. (LITERARY)
Even as she said this, she knew it was not quite true...
PHRASE
5.
You use ~ so to introduce a surprising fact which relates to what you have just said. (SPOKEN)
The bus was only half full. Even so, a young man asked Nina if the seat next to her was taken...
= nevertheless
PHRASE: PHR with cl
6.
You use ~ then to say that something is the case in spite of what has just been stated or whatever the circumstances may be.
Peace could come only gradually, in carefully measured steps. Even then, it sounds almost impossible to achieve...
PHRASE: PHR with cl
II. ADJECTIVE USES
Please look at category 10 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
An ~ measurement or rate stays at about the same level.
How important is it to have an ~ temperature when you’re working?...
The brick-built property keeps the temperature at an ~ level throughout the year.
= constant
ADJ: usu ADJ n
~ly
He looked at Ellen, breathing ~ly in her sleep.
ADV: usu ADV after v
2.
An ~ surface is smooth and flat.
The tables are fitted with a glass top to provide an ~ surface.
= level
ADJ
3.
If there is an ~ distribution or division of something, each person, group, or area involved has an equal amount.
Divide the dough into 12 ~ pieces and shape each piece into a ball...
= equal
ADJ: usu ADJ n
~ly
The meat is divided ~ly and boiled in a stew...
The blood vessels in the skin are not ~ly distributed around the face and neck.
= equally
ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed
4.
An ~ contest or competition is equally balanced between the two sides who are taking part.
...an ~ match between eight nations.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
~ly
They must choose between two ~ly matched candidates for governor.
ADV: ADV -ed
5.
If your voice is ~, you are speaking in a very controlled way which makes it difficult for people to tell what your feelings are. (LITERARY)
= steady, calm
ADJ
6.
An ~ number can be divided exactly by the number two.
? odd
ADJ: usu ADJ n
7.
If there is an ~ chance that something will happen, it is no more likely that it will happen than it will not happen.
They have a more than ~ chance of winning the next election...
= fifty-fifty
ADJ: ADJ n
see also ~s
8.
When a company or a person running a business breaks ~, they make neither a profit nor a loss. (BUSINESS)
The airline hopes to break ~ next year and return to profit the following year...
PHRASE: V inflects
9.
If you say that you are going to get ~ with someone, you mean that you are going to cause them the same amount of harm or annoyance as they have caused you. (INFORMAL)
I’m going to get ~ with you for this...
Don’t get angry, get ~.
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with n
10.
to be on an ~ keel: see keel