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Discover LudwigThe phrase "all but laughed" is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used to indicate that someone almost laughed or was very close to laughing, but did not actually do so.
Example: "When he heard the ridiculous excuse, he all but laughed, trying to maintain his composure."
Alternatives: "nearly laughed" or "practically laughed".
Exact(8)
Republicans all but laughed.
They all but laughed at me and pushed through again.
Even the opinion section of The Wall Street Journal, which is broadly sympathetic to the Trumpian agenda, all but laughed the proposal off the page.
During the 2016 campaign, in The Guardian, one agent said, "The F.B.I. is Trumpland". In his testimony, Mr. Strzok all but laughed out loud when committee members pressed him Thursday on whether the whole F.B.I. was made up of Democrats.
The 12-year-old Henry Betty, "the Infant Roscius", was ecstatically acclaimed for a few months in roles such as Macbeth and Richard III, whereupon he was all but laughed off the stage.
Because he obtained the lease for the site less than two months before the Sept. 11 attack, his vow afterward to rebuild the fallen towers was all but laughed off.
Similar(52)
David Whitley of Fanhouse.com is mystified why Griner, her coach, Kim Mulkey, and other women are under a different set of standards, while the Texas A&M-Commerce football coach Guy Morriss gets away with all but laughing off his players' arrests on drug charges.
He's like a dancing bird with a rock-steady center, besting his larger, more brutal opponents with wisdom, grace and wit, all but laughing them off their feet.
Amazingly enough, they are always not only all right, but laughing.
I couldn't help but laugh all the way to my seat.
All but one laughed at me, but thanks to that one man's advice I found jobs in Mexico City.
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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak
CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com