Definitions

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

  • adverb To some extent or degree; rather.
  • pronoun Something.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In some measure or degree; rather; a little.
  • noun Something not specified.
  • noun A measure or degree indeterminate; more or less; a little.
  • noun A person or thing of importance.

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

  • adverb In some degree or measure; a little.
  • noun More or less; a certain quantity or degree; a part, more or less; something.
  • noun A person or thing of importance; a somebody.

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

  • adverb To a limited extent or degree.
  • pronoun Something.

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

  • adverb to a moderately sufficient extent or degree
  • adverb to a small degree or extent

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

some +‎ what

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Examples

  • He is somewhat, as the lady on the other side of the table says, _somewhat_ in the 'sear leaf,' by which name indeed she is pleased to call him; but there is enough of spring in her, to suffice for all deficiencies in him.

    The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, February 1844 Volume 23, Number 2 Various

  • The government's austerity drive has shown signs of paying off, which has shielded Spain somewhat from the renewed market turmoil that has sent risk premiums for Portugal and Ireland soaring.

    Spanish Unions Prepare for Strike Jonathan House 2010

  • The term somewhat dull rather than pure D dull was used to descibe this area, because there is still a shot of color here before summer begins.

    Looking For Shade* « Fairegarden 2009

  • People tend to use the term somewhat loosely, applying it to movements aimed at preserving languages such as Irish, where there always have been at least a few native speakers left.

    The Jurassic Park of languages Kylopod 2007

  • People tend to use the term somewhat loosely, applying it to movements aimed at preserving languages such as Irish, where there always have been at least a few native speakers left.

    Archive 2007-06-01 Kylopod 2007

  • I always find the title somewhat ironic and appropriate for New Yorkers: one minute per hour for everything not New York City.

    Archive 2005-09-01 2005

  • The Border State men chose therefore to maintain possession of their four hundred thousand slaves, even with the title somewhat shaken by war, rather than to part with them for the bonds of a Government whose ability to pay they considered extremely doubtful.

    Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. 1 (of 2) From Lincoln to Garfield, with a Review of the Events Which Led to the Political Revolution of 1860 James Gillespie Blaine 1861

  • Director Bannon goes out of his way to portray Sarah Palin in the most positive light, which makes the title somewhat laughable.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • I looked up the franchise tag - from what I read , all the O' line is grouped together. for example, if a team franchises a guard , he is payed as equal to a top five tackle, when I believe it's an NFL truism that tackles are more important. same for halfback / fullbacks. and linebackers. the tag somewhat distorts a teams salary structure in such cases , thou it's very fudgeable.

    NY Daily News 2011

  • Never Hear The End Of It - 30 tracks crammed onto a single disc (which makes the title somewhat of an understatement).

    Riverfront Times | Complete Issue 2009

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