once — OAT · Shobdo

once

adverb

1 I saw him only once:

on one occasion, one time, one single time.

▷antonyms twice, many times.

2 he did not once help:

ever, at any time, on any occasion, at all, under any circumstances, on any account, in a million years.

3 they were friends once:

formerly, previously, in the past, at one time, at one point, once upon a time, on a former occasion, on one occasion, one time, in one case, time was when, in days/times gone by, back in the day, in times past, in the (good) old days, long ago;

archaic sometime, erst, erstwhile, whilom;

literary in days/times of yore, of yore.

▷antonyms now.

□ at once

1 you must leave at once:

immediately, right away, right now, this moment/instant/second/minute, now, straight away, instantly, instantaneously, directly, suddenly, abruptly, summarily, forthwith, promptly, without delay/hesitation, without further ado;

quickly, as fast as possible, as soon as possible, fast, speedily, with all speed;

informal like a shot, in/like a flash, before you can say Jack Robinson, in two shakes (of a lamb's tail).

▷antonyms later, in due course.

2 all the guests arrived at once:

at the same time, at one and the same time, at the same instant/moment, (all) together, simultaneously;

as a group, in unison, in concert, in chorus.

▷antonyms singly, in dribs and drabs.

conjunction

he'll be all right once she's gone:

as soon as, when, after, immediately after, the instant/moment/second/minute;

British, informal immediately.

□ once and for all

1 you must decide once and for all:

conclusively, decisively, finally, positively, absolutely, determinedly, definitely, definitively, irrevocably.

2 he has gone once and for all:

for good, for always, forever, permanently, finally, in perpetuity;

informal for keeps.

□ once in a while

once in a while a car went past:

occasionally, from time to time, (every) now and then/again, every so often, every once in a while, on occasion, on occasions, on the odd occasion, at times, sometimes, off and on, at intervals, periodically, sporadically, spasmodically, erratically, irregularly, intermittently, in/by fits and starts, fitfully, discontinuously, piecemeal;

rare interruptedly.