Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective One, some, every, or all without specification.
  • adjective Exceeding normal limits, as in size or duration.
  • pronoun Any one or more persons, things, or quantities.
  • adverb To any degree or extent; at all.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In the singular, one, a or an, some; in the plural, some: indeterminately distributed, implying unlimited choice as to the particular unit, number, or quantity, and hence subordinately as to quality, whichever, of whatever quantity or kind; an indeterminate unit or number of units out of many or all.
  • [In affirmative sentences, any, being indeterminate in application, in effect has reference to every unit of the sort mentioned, and thus may be nearly equivalent to every: as, any schoolboy would know that; any attempt to evade the law will be resisted: so in anybody, any one, anything, etc.
  • When any is preceded by a negative, expressed or implied, the two are together equivalent to an emphatic negative, ‘none at all,’ ‘not even one’: as, there has never been any doubt about that.
  • In the singular, one, some; in the plural, some: indeterminately distributed in the same uses as the adjective, and used absolutely or followed by of in partitive construction: with reference to persons, any one, anybody; in the plural, any persons.
  • [In this sense it might formerly have a possessive.
  • In any degree; to any extent; at all: especially used with comparatives, as any better, any worse, any more, any less, any sooner, any later, any longer, etc.
  • Also, in negative and interrogative sentences, used absolutely: as, it didn't rain any here; did it hurt him any?

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective One indifferently, out of an indefinite number; one indefinitely, whosoever or whatsoever it may be.
  • adjective Some, of whatever kind, quantity, or number; as, are there any witnesses present? are there any other houses like it?
  • adjective whatever may be the state of affairs; anyhow.
  • adverb To any extent; in any degree; at all.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb To even the slightest extent, at all.
  • determiner At least one; of at least one kind. One at all.
  • determiner No matter what kind.
  • pronoun Any thing(s) or person(s).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb to any degree or extent
  • adjective one or some or every or all without specification

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English ani, from Old English ǣnig; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English eny, from Old English æniġ.

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Examples

  • I think it's especially egregious that McDonnell's proclamation omitted any mention of slavery his explanation for doing so was that he thought slavery was not a "significant" issue for Virginia and its history because Virginia had more slaves than _any_ other state at the time of the Civil War.

    Avlon: Ugliness & absurdities in American politics continue 2010

  • Forget any racism involved, I can see how the "You don't know who I am" thing could get *any* cop's back up and make him or her want to let the person attempting to coerce or intimidate them know that they are not above the law. . .

    Media should keep pushing on Crowley 2009

  • His thesis was that the media's misbehavior will be directed any *any* Democratic candidate for president, because the Democratic Party is less for the privileges of the elites than the Republican Party is.

    Last Dance, Last Chance for Loooove Rogers 2008

  • People don\'t want to hear their names, see their faces or hear about any more of their previous or future escapades ... let alone \'any\ 'further information about them.

    Britney, Paris, and Obama: A Trio Locked in History! 2008

  • And, considering that the pressure profile within an object can be dialed up or down almost arbitrarily (within limits) _without_ causing any change in its apparent gravity, it is hard to see how pressure can make _any_ appearance in the calculation at all.

    Dark Matter: Still Existing Sean 2007

  • My point is that any elite athlete or athletic team — professional or collegiate — is considered newsworthy by the national media for *any* alleged run-in with the law and that this has been the case for at least 20 years.

    The Spectacle Of It All 2006

  • Can't we simply agree it's usenet and people (any people) with an agenda (any agenda) will use _any_ means to steal the light for a minute ?

    The Boundaries of Diversity 2005

  • I'm also never particularly impressed by articles that claim to be about students - what they're doing or thinking - without any sign that the writer has actually bothered to communicate with *any* students let alone made any attempt to be representative on the subject...

    Let Me Entertain You 2004

  •   At that point, he would accost her without any fear of attracting any  attention.

    TEDBUNDY Michaud, S G & Aynesworth H 1989

  • The slave is not allowed to resist any free man under _any_ circumstances, _his_ only safety consists in the fact that his _owner_ may bring suit and recover the price of his body, in case his life is taken, or his limbs rendered unfit for labor.

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 1 of 4 American Anti-Slavery Society

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  • boy

    May 6, 2008