not to say

not to say
phrasal
: to use a milder expression than

his manner was discourteous, not to say offensive

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not to say
Indeed one might go further and say
• • •
Main Entry:say

* * *

not to say phrase
used for adding a description that emphasizes the one that you have just used

It would be a foolish, not to say ruinous, step to take at this time.

Thesaurus: ways of adding extra informationsynonym
Main entry: say

* * *

used to introduce a stronger alternative or addition to something already said

it is easy to become sensitive, not to say paranoid

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not to say
— used to introduce a more forceful or critical way of describing someone or something

His manner was discourteous, not to say offensive.

He was impolite, not to say downright rude!

• • •
Main Entry:say

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ˈnot to say idiom
used to introduce a stronger way of describing sth

a difficult, not to say impossible, task

Main entry:sayidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • not to say — used for adding a description that emphasizes the one that you have just used It would be a foolish, not to say ruinous, step to take at this time …   English dictionary

  • not to say — use a less extreme word than …   English contemporary dictionary

  • that's not to say (that) — that’s not to say (that) phrase used for adding a statement that corrects what you have just said or makes it less definite So far, no one’s been sacked, but that’s not to say it won’t happen. Thesaurus: ways of adding extra informationsynonym… …   Useful english dictionary

  • not — W1S1 [nɔt US na:t] adv [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: nought] 1.) used to make a word, statement, or question negative ▪ Most of the stores do not open until 10am. ▪ She s not a very nice person. ▪ You were wrong not to inform the police. ▪ Can we go… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Say It's Forever — Studio album by Miz Released September 22, 2004 Genre J Pop, J Rock Label …   Wikipedia

  • say — say1 W1S1 [seı] v past tense and past participle said [sed] third person singular says [sez] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(express something in words)¦ 2¦(give information)¦ 3¦(mean)¦ 4¦(think that something is true)¦ 5¦(show/be a sign of something)¦ 6¦(speak the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • say — 1 /seI/ verb past tense and past participle said /sed/ 3rd person singular says USE WORDS 1 WORD/SOUND (T) to pronounce a word or sound: “What did you say?” | “I m so tired” she said. | say hello/goodbye etc: She left without even saying goodbye …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • say — say1 [ seı ] (3rd person singular says [ sez ] ; past tense and past participle said [ sed ] ) verb *** ▸ 1 express something using words ▸ 2 have opinion ▸ 3 mean something ▸ 4 give information/orders ▸ 5 show what someone/something is like ▸ 6… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • say — I UK [seɪ] / US verb Word forms say : present tense I/you/we/they say he/she/it says UK [sez] / US present participle saying past tense said UK [sed] / US past participle said *** Get it right: say: Unlike the verb tell, the verb say is never… …   English dictionary

  • say — [[t]se̱d[/t]] ♦ saying, said 1) VERB When you say something, you speak words. [V with quote] I m sorry, he said... [V that] She said they were very impressed... [be V ed to inf] Fo …   English dictionary

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