If you want to refer to something you or someone else has said, either to add to it or counter it, what’s the best way to do this?
Is “with that being said” a proper phrase in English?
In this article, we answer that question and provide some useful alternatives for this phrase that you can use in practice!
Other Ways to Say “With That Being Said”
- Taking that into consideration
- Even so
- Be that as it may
- All things considered
- Nevertheless
- Nonetheless
- Notwithstanding what has just been said
- Having said that
- Regardless
- All the same
- In spite of that
- However
- And yet
- Anyhoo
- Despite that
- On the other hand
- At the same time
- In consideration of the foregoing
- With that
- From that
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- “With that being said” is grammatically correct and a proper phrase to use, particularly in formal settings.
- As a formal alternative, you can also say “taking that into consideration.”
- In informal circumstances, you can say “even so.”
Stay right there! In the next section, we’ll discuss our choice of formal and informal synonyms for “with that being said.”
Thereafter, we’ll discuss whether “with that being said” is the correct phrase to use. Is it rude?
Taking That Into Consideration (Formal)
The phrase “taking that into consideration” is a formal alternative to “with that being said.” You can use it in academic or professional circumstances.
You can use this phrase to recall something previously said and then expand on it. It is articulate and somewhat verbose, making it ideal for elaborating on things in complex essays or legal texts.
Although “with that being said” is perfectly effective to use in formal settings, you can use “taking that into consideration” to avoid repetition in your academic writing or formal correspondence.
Finally, let’s see how this phrase might be used in a few examples:
Person 1: We are seeing a decrease in online engagement with our content as of February this year.
Person 2: Taking that into consideration, we might consider hiring someone with social media experience to address the issue.
I noticed that the parking space for our building is inadequate and, taking that into consideration, I reached out to the owner of the residential property next door to see if we can rent some of the space there.
Even So (Informal)
Another way of saying “with that being said” is simply to say “even so.”
This phrase is similar to saying “nevertheless” in that it refers to a point previously made and offers a counter or opposing point.
This phrase is not particularly formal, so we wouldn’t recommend using it in academic writing or professional exchanges. In fact, “with that being said” would probably be preferable in those instances.
However, you can use this phrase when discussing matters with colleagues whom you have developed a good rapport with.
Consider the following examples:
Person 1: Only providing decaf coffee in the staff room has to be a human rights violation of some kind.
Person 2: Even so, any complaints we make fall on completely deaf ears.
I haven’t received any negative feedback so far, but, even so, I feel deeply inadequate.
Is It Proper to Say “With That Being Said”?
The phrase “with that being said” is grammatically correct and, therefore, proper to use in most circumstances.
This phrase tends to come across as rather formal, tonally, but you can use it in less formal settings as well.
This phrase is not inherently rude, although your tone and the context can make it so, especially if you are opposing someone else’s statement. If said politely, it shouldn’t be a problem.
As such, while our list of synonyms can help you change your phrasing to best suit the context you’re in, the original phrase is also okay to use.
In fact, there are various ways to use this phrase in context. You can use it to expand upon something previously said or to oppose it, as illustrated below:
- But, with that being said
- So, with that being said
You will have noticed that in each example above, we have placed a comma after the conjunctions “but” and “so.” That’s because, in the context of a sentence starting with either of these words, “with that being said” is a dependent clause being inserted using commas.
If you find our list of synonyms useful, feel free to bookmark this page so you can return at any time!