anyone

[[t]e̱niwʌn[/t]]

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(The form anybody is also used.)

1) PRON-INDEF You use anyone or anybody in statements with negative meaning to indicate in a general way that nobody is present or involved in an action.

I won't tell anyone I saw you here...

You needn't talk to anyone if you don't want to...

He was far too scared to tell anybody...

Presidents are not any different from anybody else; they're human beings.

2) PRON-INDEF You use anyone or anybody in questions and conditional clauses to ask or talk about whether someone is present or doing something.

Why would anyone want that job?...

How can anyone look sad at an occasion like this?...

If anyone deserves to be happy, you do.

3) PRON-INDEF: PRON cl/group You use anyone or anybody before words which indicate the kind of person you are talking about.

I always had been the person who achieved things before anyone else at my age...

It's not a job for anyone who is slow with numbers...

Anybody interested in pop culture at all should buy `Pure Cult'.

4) PRON-INDEF (emphasis) You use anyone or anybody to refer to a person when you are emphasizing that it could be any person out of a very large number of people.

Anyone could be doing what I'm doing...

Al Smith could make anybody laugh.

5) PHRASE You use anyone who is anyone and anybody who is anybody to refer to people who are important or influential.

It seems anyone who's anyone in business is going to the conference.