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sometime

adverb · adjective

Simple meaning

At some indefinite or unstated time.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

suhmtym

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsʌmtaɪm

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. At some indefinite or unstated time

  2. At an indefinite but stated time in the past or future.

adjective

  1. Former, erstwhile; at some previous time.

  2. Occasional; intermittent.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: At some indefinite or unstated time

Used this way, sometime is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • erstwhile , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use sometime

  • “Let's get together sometime.”adverb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

after sometime

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • sometimesadverbPlural form

    On certain occasions or in certain cases but not always.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: former or erstwhile

erstwhileFormalonetimequondamFormalformer

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.