not really

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not really (not comparable)

1. To a low degree, not particularly, not especially.

   I’m not really hungry now, so let’s have dinner later.

   A: Are you hungry yet? B: Not really.

   • 2022 September 13, 2:54 from the start, in See what Russians left behind after being run out of city‎^[1], CNN:

     I asked him if it had been a hard fight.
     "Not really," he said.

2. Not actually (a hypothetical will not, in fact, come to pass), often rhetorical.

   You’re not really going to marry him, are you?

• Not to be confused with really not, meaning “to a high degree” or “(affirming) sincerely not, absolutely not”.
• Also not to be confused with no really.