anyone


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anyone

any person at all: Has anyone seen my book?
Not to be confused with:
any one – any single member of a group: Any one of you might be affected by the changes.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

an·y·one

 (ĕn′ē-wŭn′, -wən)
pron.
Any person.
Usage Note: Anyone and anybody are singular terms and always take a singular verb. · The one-word form anyone is used to mean "any person." The two-word form any one is used to mean "whatever one (person or thing) of a group." Anyone may join means that admission is open to everybody. Any one may join means that admission is open to one person only. When followed by of, only any one can be used: Any one (not anyone) of the boys could carry it by himself. · Anyone is often used in place of everyone in sentences like She is the most thrifty person of anyone I know. This usage is frowned upon by a majority of the Usage Panel, with 60 percent rejecting it in 2001, almost the same percentage that rejected it in 1964, when 64 percent rejected it. The misgivings about the usage may stem from the fact that the phrase of anyone can be dropped with essentially no change in meaning. See Usage Note at they.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

anyone

(ˈɛnɪˌwʌn; -wən)
pron
1. any person; anybody
2. (used with a negative or a question) a person of any importance: is he anyone in this town?.
3. (often preceded by just) any person at random; no matter who
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

an•y•one

(ˈɛn iˌwʌn, -wən)

pron.
any person at all; anybody: Did anyone see the accident?
[1350–1400]
usage: anyone as a pronoun meaning “anybody” or “any person at all” is written as one word. The two-word phrase any one means “any single member of a group of persons or things” and is often followed by of: Any one of these books is exciting reading. anyone is somewhat more formal than anybody. See also each, they.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

anyone

anybody
1. 'anyone' and 'anybody'

You use anyone or anybody to talk about people in general, or about each person of a particular kind.

Anyone can miss a plane.
Anybody can go there.
If anyone asks where you are, I'll say you've just gone out.
If anybody calls, tell them I'll be back soon.

There is no difference in meaning between anyone and anybody, but anybody is more common in spoken English.

2. used in questions and negatives

Anyone and anybody are very commonly used in questions and negative sentences.

Was there anyone behind you?
There wasn't anybody in the room with her.
For more information, see someone - somebody
3. 'any one'

Don't confuse anyone with any one. You use any one to emphasize that you are referring to only one of something.

There are about 350,000 properties for sale at any one time in Britain.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

anyone

anybody
pronoun a soul, any person, NE1 (S.M.S.) I won't tell anyone I saw you here.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
أي شَخْصأي شَخْص، شَخْص ماأَيُّ شَخْصكُل شَخْص
kdokolivněkdo
nogen
cualquieraalguiennadie (in negative sentences)
kõik
kukaan
itko
hver sem ernokkur
誰でも
아무도
oricine
kdorkoli
någon
ใครสักคน
bất cứ ai

any

(ˈeni) pronoun, adjective
1. one, some, no matter which. `Which dress shall I wear?' `Wear any (dress)'; `Which dresses shall I pack?' `Pack any (dresses)'.
2. (in questions and negative sentences etc) one, some. John has been to some interesting places but I've never been to any; Have you been to any interesting places?; We have hardly any coffee left.
adjective
every. Any schoolboy could tell you the answer.
adverb
at all; (even) by a small amount. Is this book any better than the last one?; His writing hasn't improved any.
ˈanybody, ˈanyone pronoun
1. (in questions, and negative sentences etc) some person. Is anybody there?
2. any person, no matter which. Get someone to help – anyone will do.
3. everyone. Anyone could tell you the answer to that.
ˈanyhow adverb
1. anyway. Anyhow, even if the problem does arise, it won't affect us.
2. in a careless, untidy way. Books piled anyhow on shelves.
ˈanything pronoun
1. (in questions, and negative sentences etc) some thing. Can you see anything?; I can't see anything.
2. a thing of any kind. You can buy anything you like; `What would you like for your birthday?' `Anything will do.'
ˈanyway adverb
nevertheless; in spite of what has been or might be said, done etc. My mother says I mustn't go but I'm going anyway; Anyway, she can't stop you.
ˈanywhere adverb
in any place at all. Have you seen my gloves anywhere?; I can't find them anywhere; `Where will I put these?' `Anywhere will do.'
at any rate
at least. It's a pity it has started to rain, but at any rate we can still enjoy ourselves at the cinema; The Queen is coming to see us – at any rate, that's what John says.
in any case
nevertheless. I don't believe the story but I'll check it in any case.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

anyone

أَيُّ شَخْص někdo nogen irgendjemand κανένας alguien, cualquiera kukaan quiconque itko nessuno 誰でも 아무도 iemand noen ktokolwiek ninguém, qualquer pessoa кто-нибудь någon ใครสักคน herhangi biri bất cứ ai 任何一个
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
The first thing he said then was that he was a fool to go on getting himself killed for anyone he ever saw, and was determined to be off and stay there no longer, When the Princess learned his intention she entreated him to stay, reminding him that another night would free her from the spell.
Rostov, who had completely forgotten Denisov, not wishing anyone to forestall him, threw off his fur coat and ran on tiptoe through the large dark ballroom.
If anyone had been watching her, he would have thought her movements decidedly peculiar, for on alighting, she went off at a great pace till she reached a certain number in a certain busy street.
He is a very kindly, generous man, and anyone who has ever written stories will know that it is much more difficult to make kindly, generous characters interesting than unkindly and mean ones.
Lina saw this and said, 'Listen, old Sanna, why are you fetching so much water?' 'If you will never repeat it to anyone, I will tell you why.' So Lina said, no, she would never repeat it to anyone, and then the cook said: 'Early tomorrow morning, when the forester is out hunting, I will heat the water, and when it is boiling in the kettle, I will throw in Fundevogel, and will boil him in it.'
We heard voices in the room in which she lay, and presently the nurse returned to say that the patient refused to see anyone. We had told her that if she refused to see Dirk the nurse was to ask if she would see me, but this she refused also.
I don't set up to be a fighting man, Senor Samson, but only the best and most loyal squire that ever served knight-errant; and if my master Don Quixote, in consideration of my many faithful services, is pleased to give me some island of the many his worship says one may stumble on in these parts, I will take it as a great favour; and if he does not give it to me, I was born like everyone else, and a man must not live in dependence on anyone except God; and what is more, my bread will taste as well, and perhaps even better, without a government than if I were a governor; and how do I know but that in these governments the devil may have prepared some trip for me, to make me lose my footing and fall and knock my grinders out?
Well, he knows me as well as anyone in the world knows me.
At once I drink to the health of the artist who painted the picture worthy of Gay, because I love all that is "sublime and beautiful." An author has written "As you will"; at once I drink to the health of "anyone you will" because I love all that is "sublime and beautiful." I should claim respect for doing so.
His sister, too, is, I hope, convinced how little the ungenerous representations of anyone to the disadvantage of another will avail when opposed by the immediate influence of intellect and manner.
A year or two earlier Philip would have refused to share a room with anyone, since he was so sensitive about his deformed foot, but his morbid way of looking at it was growing less marked: in Paris it did not seem to matter so much, and, though he never by any chance forgot it himself, he ceased to feel that other people were constantly noticing it.
"In America a girl stuffed with cotton wouldn't be alive, nor would anyone think of making a girl out of a patchwork quilt."