Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Whatever
What-ev′er
,p
ron.
Anything soever which; the thing or things of any kind; being this or that; of one nature or another; one thing or another; anything that may be; all that; the whole that; all particulars that; – used both substantively and adjectively.
Whatever
fortune stays from his word. Shakespeare
Whatever
Earth, all-bearing mother, yields. Milton.
Whatever
be its intrinsic value. J. H. Newman.
☞ Whatever often follows a noun, being used elliptically. “There being no room for any physical discovery whatever” [sc. it may be].
Whately.
Webster 1828 Edition
Whatever
WHATEVER
, pron. [what and ever.]1.
Being this or that; being of one nature or another; being one thing or another; any thing that may be. Whatever is read, let it be read with attention. Whatever measure may be adopted, let it be with due caution. Whatever you do, let it be done with prudence.2.
All that; the whole that; all particulars that.At once came forth whatever creeps.
Definition 2024
whatever
whatever
English
Alternative forms
Adjective
whatever (comparative more whatever, superlative most whatever)
- (colloquial) Unexceptional or unimportant; blah.
- 1996, Mathias, “Lake Placid Comments”, in rec.music.phish, Usenet:
- All in all, I guess I shouldn't be complaining, but the rest of the show, imho, was very whatever-ish.
- 2007, Avril Lavigne (lyrics and music), “Girlfriend”, in The Best Damn Thing:
- She's like so whatever / You can do so much better
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- (postpositive) At all, absolutely, whatsoever.
- There is no point whatever in going on with this discussion.
- 1915, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price, chapterI:
- Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
Determiner
whatever
- No matter which; for any
- Whatever choice you make, there will be consequences.
- (relative) Anything that.
- Whatever you say is fine with me.
- 1734, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man:
- And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.
- 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page viii
- Whatever utility the work may have outside of its stated boundaries will be largely because of such a nonprovincial approach.
- 2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist:
- The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
no matter which; for any
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anything
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Interjection
whatever
- (colloquial, dismissive) A holophrastic expression used discourteously to indicate that the speaker does not consider the matter worthy of further discussion.
- For the last time, brush your teeth! – Whatever!
Usage notes
- Tone of voice is particularly important here in playing up or playing down the dismissive quality of the word.
Synonyms
Translations
indicating the speaker does not care what someone says
Pronoun
whatever
- Anything; sometimes used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.
- I'll do whatever I can.
- Do you want Chinese or Mexican for lunch today? — Whatever.
Translations
anything
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Related terms
Related terms
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: George · influence · March · #668: whatever · reach · secret · showed