be that as it may

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Prepositional phrase

be that as it may

1. (idiomatic) Even if that is the case; whether that is true or not; nevertheless.
   • 1732, Henry Grove, A Discourse concerning the Nature and Design of the Lord's Supper, 1753 Charles Wright edition, London, p. 37 (Google preview):

     Be that as it may, the duty of all communicants lies plain.

   • 1776, William Combe, The Diaboliad: A Poem. Dedicated to the Worst Man in His Majesty's Dominions, London: G. Kearsly, page 14:

     But be that as it may, the principle of it is founded in truth.

   • 1858 June 12, Charles Dickens, Household Words, number 429, page 602:

     We English people, be that as it may, have among us the best nursing for love and the worst nursing for money that can be got in Europe.

   • 1953 May 24, “Mr Dulles Visits South Asia”, in New York Times, page E10:

     It has frequently been asserted in the Indian press that the United States does not understand India's position. . . . Be that as it may, it is certainly true that some sectors of Indian opinion likewise do not adequately understand the motives of the United States.

   • 2005 June 23, Mark Miller, “No rest for this elder statesman of jazz”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, page R3:

     "They seem to think I'm photogenic." Be that as it may, and Rollins surely is a striking figure, his music and only his music matters.

Synonyms

• be it as it may, howbeit, nevertheless; see also Thesaurus:nevertheless

Related terms

• come what may
• that's as may be

Translations

nevertheless

• Catalan: no contrastant això
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 儘管如此, 尽管如此 (jǐnguǎn rúcǐ)

• Dutch: hoe dan ook, wat er ook van zij
• Finnish: oli miten oli
• French: quoi qu’il en soit (fr), en tout cas (fr), de toute façon (fr)
• German: wie dem auch sei
• Hebrew: אף על פי כן
• Italian: sia quel che sia
• Maori: me aha koa
• Polish: bądź co bądź (pl)
• Portuguese: seja como for, de qualquer forma, de todo modo
• Russian: (conjunction) как бы то ни́ бы́ло (ru) (kak by to ní býlo), (interjection) будь что бу́дет (ru) (budʹ što búdet)
• Spanish: sea como fuere (es)
• Urdu: جو بھی ہو (jo bhī ho)

References

• be that as it may in the Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.