万不得已 wàn bù dé yǐ — out of sheer necessity; as a last resort

万不得已
wàn bù dé yǐ

Characters: 万 · 不 · 得 · 已

Definitions

  1. out of sheer necessity; as a last resort

More definitions

CC-CEDICT

  1. only when absolutely essential (idiom)
  2. as a last resort

ExtDict

  1. 表示无可奈何，不得不如此。

Examples

  • 不到万不得已，他是不会轻易开口借钱的。

    He would not easily ask to borrow money unless it was absolutely necessary.

  • 这张底牌我只在万不得已的时候才打出来。

    I will only play this last card as a last resort.