student asking question

What does 'all that' mean here? Is there any difference between saying 'not very different' and 'not all that different'?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"All that" in this context is another way to say "really", "very", or "super". There is no difference between saying "not very different" and "not all that different" except that "not all that different" is a little bit more casual and informal. "All that" is also normally used in the negative form and said as "not all that" and rarely just "all that". Ex: Did you like the movie? I didn't think it was all that good. Ex: The pizza wasn't all that good but it was cheap.

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