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adv. 1. In addition; also: He's coming along too. 2. More than enough; excessively: She worries too much. 3. To a regrettable degree: My error was all too apparent. 4. Very; extremely; immensely: He's only too willing to be of service. 5. Informal Indeed; so: You will too do it! [Middle English to, from Old English tō, to, furthermore; see de- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: Some people object to the use of not too as an equivalent of not very, as in She was not too pleased with the results. In many contexts this construction is entirely idiomatic and should pass without notice: It wasn't too long ago that deregulation was being hailed as the savior of the savings and loan industry. It was not too bright of them to build in an area where rock slides occur. In these cases not too adds a note of ironic understatement. · Negation of too by can't may sometimes lead to ambiguities, as in You can't check your child's temperature too often, which may mean either that the temperature should be checked only occasionally or that it should be checked as frequently as possible. |
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