however

English Online Dictionary. What means however‎? What does however mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English however, how-ever, how-evere; equivalent to how +‎ ever. Compare howsoever.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /hɑʊˈɛvə/
• (US) enPR: houĕvʹər, IPA^(key): /haʊˈɛvɚ/
• (New York City) IPA^(key): /hɑˈwɛvə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: how‧ev‧er

Adverb

however (not comparable)

1. (conjunctive) Nevertheless; yet, still; in spite of that.

   Synonyms: nonetheless, notwithstanding, that said, still and all, in any case, after all, anyway; see also Thesaurus:nevertheless, Thesaurus:regardless

   Coordinate term: but (conjunction)
2. (conjunctive) In contrast.

3. (degree) To whatever degree or extent.

   Synonyms: ad lib, howsoever, howso, howsoevermuch
4. (informal, manner) In any way that one likes or chooses; in a haphazard or spontaneous way.

5. (interrogative) How ever: an emphatic form of how, used to ask in what manner.

   Synonyms: how + the dickens; see also Thesaurus:the dickens

6. (obsolete) In any case, at any rate, at all events.
   • c. 1680, John Tillotson:

     Our chief end and highest interest is happiness : And this is happiness to be freed from all (if it may) [or] however from the greatest evils.

Usage notes

Traditionally, some commentators have objected to the use of "however" at the start of a sentence in the sense of "nevertheless", but in practice this is widely accepted.

The use of a comma before "however" as a means of connecting independent clauses in the sense of "nevertheless", as in "She wanted to go, however she decided against it", is traditionally considered an error, equivalent to using "however" as a proscribed conjunction (see below). Compare the prescriptively correct sentence "She wanted to go, but she decided against it", which uses a true conjunction "but".

Translations

Conjunction

however

1. Regardless of the way in which.

   Synonyms: howsoever, howso, anyhow
2. In any way in which.

3. (proscribed) But, yet, though, although.

   *She wanted to go, however she decided against it. (proscribed)

Usage notes

See the usage notes for adverb senses, above.

Derived terms

• however one slices it

Translations

References

• “however”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “however”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• "however (degree)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• "however (despite)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• "however (way)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
• “however”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)

Anagrams

• everwho, whoever