in any event prepositional phrase2 •At any rate: anyhow, regardless (emphasizing that a point doesn't matter or hardly matters).The product is duly prohibited by law, but in any event, it is still available on the black market. •At any rate: by any measure, any way one slices it, in every case, no matter what (emphasizing that a point matters so much that there is no case in which it does not matter).You can grumble all you like, but in any event, you'd better be there at the appointed time.
