[Vocabulary] Almost only?

[Habituellement]

Hello.
I am not entirely sure that "almost only" is correct English in this kind of sentence:

Almost only favorable results[SUP]1[/SUP] are found in the various academic publications.

[SUP]1 [/SUP]I am speaking of the results of laboratory tests.

In other words, most of the results found in the literature are favorable. Is "almost only" correct (and elegant) English?

Thank you very much for your answers.

 

[Tarheel]

Are they suggesting that there is a bias against negative results and in favor of favorable results, and thus negative results are not published and favorable results are?

Thank you very much for your answers.

Hm.

 

[GoesStation]

Almost and only are contradictory.

 

[jutfrank]

The combination does work logically but it sounds terrible. Find another way.

 

[tedmc]

I find "almost only" an awkward mix. How about:

Almost all results found in the various academic publications are favourable.

 

[Habituellement]

Are they suggesting that there is a bias against negative results and in favor of favorable results, and thus negative results are not published and favorable results are?

No, this is not the context of the sentence.
I am only speaking of a fact here, concerning the state of the academic literature, without suspecting any bias.

 

[Habituellement]

Almost and only are contradictory.

Please could you explain why you see a contradiction?
"Almost every", for example, is a common expression, if I am not mistaken. There is not contradiction between "almost" and "every".

Jane goes for the same walk almost every morning.

Why should we perceive a contradiction between "almost" and "only"?

 

[Habituellement]

I find "almost only" an awkward mix. How about:

Almost all results found in the various academic publications are favourable.

Thank you, tedmc.
In this context, is "almost all results found" synonymous with "most results found"?

 

[jutfrank]

Why should we perceive a contradiction between "almost" and "only"?

GoesStation didn't mean that there's a logical contradiction. He meant that the two words don't go together.

 

[jutfrank]

In this context, is "almost all results found" synonymous with "most results found"?

No. Logically, almost all implies most, but that doesn't mean they are synonymous.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . Why should we perceive a contradiction between "almost" and "only"?

Ugh. This is probably the kind of question to save and ask again in a few years. Right now, it will help you just to know that it sounds terrible to our ears.

I understand the logic of it, so I'm not telling you it doesn't make sense. The phrase is the opposite of idiomatic — so unnatural that it's the linguistic equivalent of hitting your thumb with a hammer.

The good news is that your original instinct, which led you to ask the question, was exactly right. "Amost only" is not elegant – at all!