whatever

whatever

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of whatever in English

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

  1. (interrogative) What ever; emphatic form of 'what'.
    Good heavens! Whatever time is it?!
  2. Regardless of the ... that; for any ... that.
  3. Any ... that; of no matter what type or kind that.
  4. Any; of no matter what type or kind.
    I must obtain it at whatever cost.

Derived terms

Translations

Pronoun

whatever

  1. (interrogative) What ever; emphasised form of 'what', used to ask which thing, event, circumstance, etc.
  2. Regardless of anything that.
  3. (fused relative) Anything that; all that.
  4. (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)

  1. (with negative) At all; in any way; whatsoever.
    There is no point whatever in going on with this discussion.
  2. (interrogative) In what way; to what extent.
    Whatever does it matter now?

Interjection

whatever

  1. (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)

  1. (colloquial) Unexceptional or unimportant; blah.

Noun

whatever (plural whatevers)

  1. (colloquial) Something whose exact kind or nature is unimportant; a thingy.

Related terms

References

  • “whatever”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

  • everwhat

Bookmark
share
WebDictionary.net is an Free English Dictionary containing information about the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, translations, etymology and more.

Related Words

-

Browse the English Dictionary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

License

This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.