Adjacent Words

Ever definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EV'ER, adv. At any time; at any period or point of time, past or future. Have you ever seen the city of Paris, or shall you ever see it?
No man ever yet hated his own flesh. Ephesians 5.
1. At all times; always; continually.
He shall ever love, and always be
The subject of my scorn and cruelty.
He will ever by mindful of his covenant. Psalms 111.
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3.
2. Forever, eternally; to perpetuity; during everlasting continuance.
This is my name forever. Exodus 3.
In a more lax sense, this word signifies continually, for an indefinite period.
His master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. Exodus 21.
These words are sometimes repeated, for the sake of emphasis; forever and ever, or forever and forever.
3. Ever and anon, at one time and another; now and then.
4. In any degree. No man is ever the richer or happier for injustice.
Let no man fear that creature ever the less, because he sees the apostle safe from his poison.
In modern usage, this word is used for never, but very improperly.
And all the question, wrangle e'er so long,
Is only this, if God has placed him wrong.
This ought to be, ne'er so long, as the phrase is always used in the Anglo-Saxon, and in our version of the scriptures, that is, so long as never, so long as never before, to any length of time indefinitely. As me never so much dowry. Charmers, charming never so wisely. These are the genuine English phrases. Let them charm so wisely as never before.
5. A word of enforcement or emphasis; thus, as soon as ever he had done it; as like him as ever he can look.
They broke all their bones in pieces or ever they came to the bottom of the den. Daniel 6.
The latter phrase is however anomalous; or-ever being equivalent to before, and or may be a mistake for ere.
7. In poetry, and sometimes in prose, ever is contracted into e'er.
Ever in composition signifies always or continually, without intermission, or to eternity.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: at any time; "did you ever smoke?"; "the best con man of all time" [syn: ever, of all time]
2: at all times; all the time and on every occasion; "I will always be there to help you"; "always arrives on time"; "there is always some pollution in the air"; "ever hoping to strike it rich"; "ever busy" [syn: always, ever, e'er] [ant: ne'er, never]
3: (intensifier for adjectives) very; "she was ever so friendly" [syn: ever, ever so]

Merriam Webster's

adverb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ?fre Date: before 12th century 1. always <ever striving to improve> <the ever-increasing population> 2. a. at any time <more than ever before> b. in any way <how can I ever thank you> 3. — used as an intensive <looks ever so angry> <am I ever happy to see you>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adv. 1 at all times; always (ever hopeful; ever after). 2 at any time (have you ever been to Paris?; nothing ever happens; as good as ever). 3 as an emphatic word: a in any way; at all (how ever did you do it?; when will they ever learn?). b (prec. by as) in any manner possible (be as quick as ever you can). 4 (in comb.) constantly (ever-present; ever-recurring). 5 (foll. by so, such) Brit. colloq. very; very much (is ever so easy; was ever such a nice man; thanks ever so). 6 (foll. by compar.) constantly, increasingly (grew ever larger). Phrases and idioms: did you ever? colloq. did you ever hear or see the like? ever since throughout the period since. for ever 1 for all future time. 2 colloq. for a long time (cf. FOREVER). Etymology: OE æfre

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ever Ev"eradv. [OE. ever, [ae]fre, AS. [ae]fre; perh. akin to AS. [=a] always. Cf. Aye, Age,Evry, Never.] [Sometimes contracted into e'er.] 1. At any time; at any period or point of time. No man ever yet hated his own flesh. --Eph. v. 29. 2. At all times; through all time; always; forever. He shall ever love, and always be The subject of by scorn and cruelty. --Dryder. 3. Without cessation; continually. Note: Ever is sometimes used as an intensive or a word of enforcement. ``His the old man e'er a son?'' --Shak. To produce as much as ever they can. --M. Arnold. Ever and anon, now and then; often. See under Anon. Ever is one, continually; constantly. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Ever so, in whatever degree; to whatever extent; -- used to intensify indefinitely the meaning of the associated adjective or adverb. See Never so, under Never. ``Let him be ever so rich.'' --Emerson. And all the question (wrangle e'er so long), Is only this, if God has placed him wrong. --Pope. You spend ever so much money in entertaining your equals and betters. --Thackeray. For ever, eternally. See Forever. For ever and a day, emphatically forever. --Shak. She [Fortune] soon wheeled away, with scornful laughter, out of sight for ever and day. --Prof. Wilson. Or ever (for or ere), before. See Or, ere. [Archaic] Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio! --Shak. Note: Ever is sometimes joined to its adjective by a hyphen, but in most cases the hyphen is needless; as, ever memorable, ever watchful, ever burning.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: 'Ever' is an adverb which you use to add emphasis in negative sentences, commands, questions, and conditional structures. 1. Ever means at any time. It is used in questions and negative statements. I'm not sure I'll ever trust people again... Neither of us had ever skied... Have you ever experienced failure?... I don't know if you ever read any of his books... ? never ADV: ADV before v, ADV adv 2. You use ever in expressions such as 'did you ever' and 'have you ever' to express surprise or shock at something you have just seen, heard, or experienced, especially when you expect people to agree with you. Have you ever seen anything like it?... Did you ever hear anyone sound so peculiar? ADV: in questions, ADV before v [emphasis] 3. You use ever after comparatives and superlatives to emphasize the degree to which something is true or when you are comparing a present situation with the past or the future. She's got a great voice and is singing better than ever... Japan is wealthier and more powerful than ever before... He feels better than he has ever felt before... This is the most awful evening I can ever remember. ADV: ADV after compar than, ADV after adj-superl [emphasis] 4. You use ever to say that something happens more all the time. They grew ever further apart... ADV: ADV adj/adv 5. You can use ever for emphasis after 'never'. (INFORMAL) I can never, ever, forgive myself... ADV: ADV before v [emphasis] 6. You use ever in questions beginning with words such as 'why', 'when', and 'who' when you want to emphasize your surprise or shock. Why ever didn't you tell me?... Who ever heard of a thing like that? ADV: quest ADV [emphasis] 7. If something has been the case ever since a particular time, it has been the case all the time from then until now. He's been there ever since you left!... Ever since we moved last year, I worry a lot about whether I can handle this new job... PHRASE • Ever is also an adverb. I simply gave in to him, and I've regretted it ever since... ADV: ADV after v, ADV with cl 8. You use ever in the expressions ever such and ever so to emphasize that someone or something has a particular quality, especially when you are expressing enthusiasm or gratitude. (BRIT INFORMAL) When I met Derek he was ever such a good dancer... I like him ever so much... I'm ever so grateful... ADV: ADV such/so [emphasis] 9. see also forever 10. You use the expression all someone ever does when you want to emphasize that they do the same thing all the time, and this annoys you. All she ever does is whinge and complain... PHRASE: V inflects [emphasis] 11. You say as ever in order to indicate that something or someone's behaviour is not unusual because it is like that all the time or very often. As ever, the meals are primarily fish-based... PHRASE: PHR with cl 12. hardly ever: see hardly

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

ad. 1. At any time. 2. Always, evermore, perpetually, continually, eternally, aye, for aye, forever, at all times, to the end of time, through all ages, till doomsday.

Moby Thesaurus

all the time, always, annoyingly, anytime, anyway, anywise, at all, at all times, at any cost, at any time, aye, by any chance, by any means, by merest chance, ceaselessly, confoundedly, consistently, constantly, consummately, continually, continuously, daily, daily and hourly, day after day, day and night, endlessly, eternally, even, ever and again, ever and anon, everlastingly, evermore, every day, every hour, every moment, excessively, extremely, for all time, for aye, for good, for keeps, forever, forever and aye, forevermore, grievously, hour after hour, hourly, if at all, immensely, in all ages, in any case, in any way, incessantly, inordinately, invariably, month after month, mortally, night and day, now and forever, on and on, once, over, overfull, overly, overmuch, perennially, perpetually, plaguey, rapidly, regularly, right along, steadily, still, super, sustainedly, throughout the ages, till doomsday, till time stops, too, unceasingly, unduly, unintermittently, uninterruptedly, unvaryingly, usually, without cease, without letup, without stopping, year after year, yet