justadverb
uk/dʒʌst/us/dʒʌst/just adverb (NOW)
A2 now, very soon, or very recently:
"Where are you, Jim?" "I'm just coming."
I'll just finish this, then we can go.
He'd just got into the bath when the phone rang.
The children arrived at school just as (= at the same moment as) the bell was ringing.
The doctor will be with you in just a minute/moment/second (= very soon).
It's just after/past (UK also gone) ten o'clock.
just now
A2 a very short time ago:
Who was that at the door just now?
at the present time:
John's in the bath just now - can he call you back?
More examples
- I went to that new club that's just opened.
- We've just bought a new rug for the living room.
- They've just come back from Amsterdam.
- Hello there - we were just talking about you.
- I've just tried ringing him but there was no answer.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Now
- contemporary
- current
- day
- de nos jours
- even
- existing
- here
- modern-day
- moment
- nowadays
- ongoing
- present
- prevailing
- right
- state
- still
- the status quo
- there's no time like the present idiom
- this minute idiom
- today
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
In the future & soon
In the past
just adverb (EXACTLY)
B1 exactly or equally:
This carpet would be just right for the dining room.
The twins look just like each other.
Things turned out just as I expected.
You've got just as many toys as your brother.
Thank you, it's just what I've always wanted.
I can't help you just now/yet.
Just then, the lights went out.
I can just imagine Sophie as a police officer.
informal approving That dress is just you (= suits you very well).
More examples
- Luckily, he had just the right amount of money with him.
- This paint is just the right colour for my kitchen.
- He always knows just the right thing to say.
- It was just the right weather for a marathon.
- I'm just as upset about it as you are.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Accurate and exact
- accuracy
- accurate
- aright
- authoritative
- bang
- be bang on idiom
- exact
- exactly
- in so many words idiom
- infallible
- infallibly
- letter-perfect
- literal
- sharp
- strictly speaking idiom
- technically
- to the day idiom
- to the letter idiom
- truly
- unerring
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just adverb (ONLY)
B1 only; simply:
"Would you like another drink?" "OK, just one more."
It was just a joke.
His daughter's just a baby/just a few weeks old.
We'll just have to (= the only thing we can do is) wait and see what happens.
She lives just down the road (= very near).
Just because you're older than me doesn't mean you can tell me what to do.
B1 used to make a statement or order stronger:
He just won't do as he's told.
It's just too expensive.
used to reduce the force of a statement and to suggest that it is not very important:
Can I just borrow the scissors for a second?
I just wanted to ask you if you're free this afternoon.
More examples
- We were just chatting about what we did last weekend.
- We sat in a bar most of the evening just chewing the fat.
- I'm just chilling out in front of the TV.
- "What did you talk about?" "Oh, just chit-chat."
- He's just trying to advance his own career.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Merely and barely
- all
- all of sth idiom
- at a pinch idiom
- barely
- but
- by a whisker idiom
- by inches idiom
- hardly
- ill
- inch
- merely
- merest
- narrowly
- nothing more than idiom
- only
- pinch
- scarcely
- whisker
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Linguistics: very & extreme
just adverb (ALMOST)
B1 almost not or almost:
We arrived at the airport just in time to catch the plane.
This dress (only) just fits.
"Can you see the stage?" "Yes, only just/just about."
I've just about finished painting the living room.
be just possible
If something is just possible, there is a slight chance that it will happen:
It's just possible that we might be going away that weekend.
More examples
- It's just conceivable that the hospital made a mistake.
- We just managed to put out the fire.
- They only just arrived in time.
- I could only just hear what she was saying.
- There was just enough food for everyone.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Merely and barely
- all
- all of sth idiom
- at a pinch idiom
- barely
- but
- by a whisker idiom
- by inches idiom
- hardly
- ill
- inch
- merely
- merest
- narrowly
- nothing more than idiom
- only
- pinch
- scarcely
- whisker
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Possible and probable
just adverb (VERY)
B1 very; completely:
It's just dreadful what happened to her.
More examples
- Don't you just adore lying in a hot bath?
- My wedding day was just the happiest day of my life.
- I find I just can't communicate with her.
- Instant coffee just doesn't compare with freshly ground coffee.
- He had so much pressure on him in his job that eventually he just couldn't cope.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: very & extreme
- abject
- awful
- badly
- beyond
- classic
- classical
- devastating
- drop dead! idiom
- eminently
- esp
- especially
- heartily
- impossibly
- rather
- sheer
- specially
- supremely
- thoroughly
- whole
- wide
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Idiom(s)
isn't it/aren't they just?
it's just one of those things
just a minute/moment/second
(it's) just as well (that)
just like that
just my luck!
(I'm) just saying
might just as well
justadjective
uk/dʒʌst/us/dʒʌst/C2 fair; morally correct:
The judge's sentence was perfectly just in the circumstances.
I don't really think he had just cause to complain.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Justice and fairness
- a fair crack of the whip idiom
- all's fair in love and war idiom
- an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth) idiom
- balanced
- by rights idiom
- equitable
- even-handed
- eye
- fair
- fair go
- fair-minded
- fairly
- fear
- play the game idiom
- poetic justice
- pound of flesh idiom
- reap what you have sown idiom
- sporting
- term
- there's one law for the rich and another for the poor idiom
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justly
adverb uk/ˈdʒʌst.li/us/ˈdʒʌst.li/
He was justly condemned to a long prison sentence.
Kenji Mizoguchi is justly recognized as one of Japanese cinema’s greatest figures.
justness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈdʒʌst.nəs/us/ˈdʒʌst.nəs/
Idiom(s)
get your just deserts
justnoun
uk/dʒʌst/us/dʒʌst/the just formal
people who behave in a morally correct way
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Justice and fairness
- a fair crack of the whip idiom
- all's fair in love and war idiom
- an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth) idiom
- balanced
- by rights idiom
- equitable
- even-handed
- eye
- fair
- fair go
- fair-minded
- fairly
- fear
- play the game idiom
- poetic justice
- pound of flesh idiom
- reap what you have sown idiom
- sporting
- term
- there's one law for the rich and another for the poor idiom
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