If you use nowhere near in front of a word or expression, you are emphasizing that the real situation is very different from, or has not yet reached, the state which that word or expression suggests.
[emphasis]
He's nowhere near recovered yet from his experiences.
The chair he sat in was nowhere near as comfortable as the custom-designed one behindhis desk.
See full dictionary entry for nowhere
nowhere near in British English
far from; not nearly
See full dictionary entry for nowhere
nowhere near in American English
not by a wide margin
See full dictionary entry for nowhere
Examples of 'nowhere near' in a sentence
nowhere near
We are nowhere near good enough at the moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The biggest fear is they are nowhere near rock bottom.
The Sun (2017)
Nowhere near good enough for our football club yesterday.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My story is nowhere near as dramatic as many that debt charities hear about.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Critics say the investment is nowhere near enough for a technology that could save lives.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This is nowhere near good enough.
The Sun (2016)
Yet it is nowhere near as important as the City.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The bad news is they're nowhere near good enough.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
When you are on a booking, you don't go lunging in nowhere near your own goal.
The Sun (2016)
This draft policy goes nowhere near far enough to exclude any potential financial benefit.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We are aware that our assets come nowhere near the amounts that are claimed from the church.
Christianity Today (2000)
There were nowhere near enough of them.
The Sun (2009)
The minimum wage is nowhere near enough.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
That would come nowhere near the noise of this bang.
The Sun (2010)
She is nowhere near ready for power.
The Sun (2016)
Consultants work nowhere near as hard as teachers.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The money we have spent is nowhere near the top four or five but we are here to compete.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
She's nowhere near the only one.
The Sun (2013)
Men capable in flashes, yet nowhere near consistent enough.
The Sun (2009)
Politicians should go nowhere near these Games except in protest.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He is nowhere near full fitness yet, but he is getting there.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It's gone nowhere near far enough.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But we're nowhere near that yet.
David Boyle AUTHENTICITY: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life (2003)
But the modest and quiet Welshman insists he is nowhere near his peak yet.
The Sun (2011)
I have a dog and three cats yet spend nowhere near that much.
The Sun (2015)
We're nowhere near catharsis yet.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Surely, common sense tells us this is a man who should go nowhere near the club for the rest of the season.
The Sun (2009)
When actually, the boots in question go nowhere near the thigh: they creep just over the knee.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I was not in a relationship - nowhere near one, in fact.