World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English DictionariesBut-for
/ˌbʌtˈfɔːr/Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
Without the presence, action, or intervention of; if not for.
"But-for his quick intervention, the accident would have been much worse."
- 1
Relating to a legal test for causation that determines whether an event would have occurred without a specific act or condition.
"The plaintiff must satisfy the but-for test to establish legal liability."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
Derived from the conjunction 'but' (Old English 'būtan', meaning outside of, except) combined with the preposition 'for'. It evolved primarily in legal and formal contexts to establish a conditional prerequisite or a decisive counterfactual cause.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "But-for"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "But-for" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
sans
Transliteration: sɑ̃
"Sans son aide, nous n'aurions pas réussi."
ohne
Transliteration: oːnə
"Ohne seine Hilfe hätten wir es nicht geschafft."
senza
Transliteration: ˈsɛntsa
"Senza il suo intervento, la situazione sarebbe peggiorata."
de no ser por
Transliteration: de no seɾ poɾ
"De no ser por su ayuda, habríamos fracasado."
não fosse
Transliteration: nɐ̃w ˈfɔsi
"Não fosse a sua intervenção, o pior teria acontecido."
के बिना
Transliteration: ke binā
"उनकी मदद के बिना हम सफल नहीं हो पाते।"
要不是
Transliteration: yào bú shi
"要不是你的帮忙，我们就会失败。"
~가 없었더라면
Transliteration: gaj eopseotdeoramyeon
"그의 도움이 없었더라면 우리는 실패했을 것이다."
…がなければ
Transliteration: ...ga nakereba
"彼の助けがなければ、私たちは成功しなかっただろう。"
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