See sort of on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "From a reanalysis of \"sort of\" in a phrase such as \"a sort of merry dance\" from noun (\"sort\") and preposition (\"of\") from the prepositional phrase \"of merry dance\" to adverb modifying \"merry\".",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "-"
},
"expansion": "sort of (not comparable)",
"name": "en-adv"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adv",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
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{
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"parents": [
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"Terms by semantic function"
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{
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
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{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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"kind": "other",
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{
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{
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"source": "w"
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"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
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{
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
"source": "w"
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{
"kind": "other",
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"kind": "other",
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{
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"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
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}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "It sort of makes sense the way he explains it, but I still don't really understand.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post:",
"text": "\"Why—why, we sort of expected he'd be here!\" says she.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:",
"text": "Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:",
"text": "‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War.[…]’",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2023 April 5, RAIL, number 980:",
"text": "Anne Shaw tells Peter Plisner, \"West Midlands Metro metamorphosis\", page 32:\n\"It sort of transforms that location,\" says Shaw.\nPip Dunn, \"'196s' giving commuters a smoother ride\", page 55:\nMessy trains are horrible, but you can sort of understand passengers leaving their sandwich wrappers and paper cups if there is nowhere to dispose of them.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Approximately; in a way; partially; not quite; somewhat."
],
"id": "en-sort_of-en-adv-nbaU2VOc",
"links": [
[
"Approximately",
"approximately"
],
[
"in a way",
"in a way"
],
[
"partially",
"partially"
],
[
"not quite",
"not quite"
],
[
"somewhat",
"somewhat"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, colloquial) Approximately; in a way; partially; not quite; somewhat."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "of sorts"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "kind of"
},
{
"word": "sorta"
},
{
"word": "sort-of"
}
],
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"idiomatic",
"not-comparable"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "jollain tapaa"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "jotenkuten"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "tavallaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "en quelque sorte"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "partiellement"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "plus ou moins"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "algo así"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "irgendwie"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "be'érech",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "בְּעֵרֶךְ"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "némileg"
},
{
"code": "id",
"lang": "Indonesian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "semacam"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "cineál"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "jakiś"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "mais ou menos"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "aproximadamente"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "de certa forma"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "néčto vróde",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "не́что вро́де"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "tak skazátʹ",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "так сказа́ть"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ne sovsem",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "не совсем"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "nàdar de"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "nekako"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "na neki način"
},
{
"code": "sl",
"lang": "Slovene",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "na nek način"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "algo así"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "en cierto sentido"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "de alguna forma"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "de cierta manera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "más o menos"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "typ"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈsɔɹt əv/",
"tags": [
"US"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsɔɹɾəv]",
"tags": [
"US"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈsɔːt əv/",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsɔːt əv]",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsɔːʔ əv]",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsətəv]",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"audio": "En-au-sort of.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/En-au-sort_of.ogg/En-au-sort_of.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/En-au-sort_of.ogg"
}
],
"word": "sort of"
}
{
"etymology_text": "From a reanalysis of \"sort of\" in a phrase such as \"a sort of merry dance\" from noun (\"sort\") and preposition (\"of\") from the prepositional phrase \"of merry dance\" to adverb modifying \"merry\".",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "-"
},
"expansion": "sort of (not comparable)",
"name": "en-adv"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adv",
"related": [
{
"word": "of sorts"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English adverbs",
"English colloquialisms",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English positive polarity items",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"English uncomparable adverbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Requests for review of Esperanto translations",
"Terms with Esperanto translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Galician translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Hebrew translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Indonesian translations",
"Terms with Irish translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
"Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"Terms with Slovene translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "It sort of makes sense the way he explains it, but I still don't really understand.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post:",
"text": "\"Why—why, we sort of expected he'd be here!\" says she.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:",
"text": "Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:",
"text": "‘I understand that the district was considered a sort of sanctuary,’ the Chief was saying. ‘An Alsatia like the ancient one behind the Strand, or the Saffron Hill before the First World War.[…]’",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2023 April 5, RAIL, number 980:",
"text": "Anne Shaw tells Peter Plisner, \"West Midlands Metro metamorphosis\", page 32:\n\"It sort of transforms that location,\" says Shaw.\nPip Dunn, \"'196s' giving commuters a smoother ride\", page 55:\nMessy trains are horrible, but you can sort of understand passengers leaving their sandwich wrappers and paper cups if there is nowhere to dispose of them.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Approximately; in a way; partially; not quite; somewhat."
],
"links": [
[
"Approximately",
"approximately"
],
[
"in a way",
"in a way"
],
[
"partially",
"partially"
],
[
"not quite",
"not quite"
],
[
"somewhat",
"somewhat"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, colloquial) Approximately; in a way; partially; not quite; somewhat."
],
"tags": [
"colloquial",
"idiomatic",
"not-comparable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ˈsɔɹt əv/",
"tags": [
"US"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsɔɹɾəv]",
"tags": [
"US"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˈsɔːt əv/",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsɔːt əv]",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsɔːʔ əv]",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"ipa": "[ˈsətəv]",
"tags": [
"UK"
]
},
{
"audio": "En-au-sort of.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/En-au-sort_of.ogg/En-au-sort_of.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/En-au-sort_of.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "kind of"
},
{
"word": "sorta"
},
{
"word": "sort-of"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "jollain tapaa"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "jotenkuten"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "tavallaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "en quelque sorte"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "partiellement"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "plus ou moins"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "algo así"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "irgendwie"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "be'érech",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "בְּעֵרֶךְ"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "némileg"
},
{
"code": "id",
"lang": "Indonesian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "semacam"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "cineál"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "jakiś"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "mais ou menos"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "aproximadamente"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "de certa forma"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "néčto vróde",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "не́что вро́де"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "tak skazátʹ",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "так сказа́ть"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ne sovsem",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "не совсем"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "nàdar de"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "nekako"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "na neki način"
},
{
"code": "sl",
"lang": "Slovene",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "na nek način"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "algo así"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "en cierto sentido"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "de alguna forma"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "de cierta manera"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "más o menos"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "in a way etc.",
"word": "typ"
}
],
"word": "sort of"
}
Download raw JSONL data for sort of meaning in All languages combined (6.5kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (4ba5975 and 4ed51a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.