English Online Dictionary. What means whatever? What does whatever mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English whatever; equivalent to what + ever.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ʍɒtˈɛvə/, /wɒtˈɛvə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /wʌtˈɛvɚ/, /wəɾˈɛvɚ/
- Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)
The /t/ in whatever may be flapped in certain dialects despite the fact that the /t/ precedes a stressed vowel due to the morpheme boundary between what and -ever.
Determiner
whatever
- (interrogative) What ever; emphatic form of 'what'.
- Good heavens! Whatever time is it?!
- Regardless of the ... that; for any ... that.
- Any ... that; of no matter what type or kind that.
- Any; of no matter what type or kind.
- I must obtain it at whatever cost.
Derived terms
Translations
Pronoun
whatever
- (interrogative) What ever; emphasised form of 'what', used to ask which thing, event, circumstance, etc.
- Regardless of anything that.
- (fused relative) Anything that; all that.
- (informal) Anything; thing(s) of unspecified kind, or no matter what kind; sometimes used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.
Related terms
- whatever creams your twinkie
- whatever floats your boat
- whatever it takes
Translations
Adverb
whatever (not comparable)
- (with negative) At all; in any way; whatsoever.
- There is no point whatever in going on with this discussion.
- (interrogative) In what way; to what extent.
- Whatever does it matter now?
Interjection
whatever
- (colloquial) A holophrastic expression used to dismiss something that the speaker doesn't care about, doesn't think important, or doesn't want to consider or discuss any further.
Usage notes
- May appear rude or discourteous. Can be used to end an argument without conceding the point, implying that the issue is not worth discussing or indicating a general sense of apathy toward the subject.
Synonyms
- so what
- whoopee do
- meh
- whatev
Translations
Adjective
whatever (comparative more whatever, superlative most whatever)
- (colloquial) Unexceptional or unimportant; blah.
Noun
whatever (plural whatevers)
- (colloquial) Something whose exact kind or nature is unimportant; a thingy.
Related terms
References
- “whatever”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
- everwhat