ever

ever
adverb
1 a word meaning at any time; used mostly in questions, negatives, comparisons, or sentences with `if': Nothing ever makes Ted angry. | “Do you ever get to the theatre?” “No, never.” | I don't remember ever seeing him before. | If you're ever in Seattle, come and see me. | have you ever: “Have you ever been to Paris?” “Yes, I have.” | That's the biggest fish I've ever seen. | hotter/thinner/taller etc than ever (=hotter, thinner etc than before): It's colder than ever today. | as friendly/cheerful/boring etc as ever (=as friendly, cheerful etc as in the past): Magda was pale and thin, but her eyes were as bright as ever. | hardly ever (=almost never): I hardly ever see Sara these days. | never ever spoken (=used to emphasize that something has never happened or someone has never done something): or: I never ever said anything like that! | rarely, if ever (=probably never): Brian rarely, if ever, gets to bed before 3 am. | if ever there was one spoken (=used when saying that someone or something is a typical example of something): Joe's great, a real Northern comic if ever there was one.
2 a word meaning always; used especially with expressions of time: Ever optimistic, Gemma decided to give him another chance. | His company is making ever larger profits. | ever since (=continuously since): Paul came here for a holiday several years ago and he's been here ever since. | for ever: He said he would love her for ever. | for ever and ever (=always, used especially in children's stories) | happily ever after (=used at the end of children's stories): The prince and princess got married and lived happily ever after. | as ever especially BrE (=as usually happens): As ever, Kim refused to admit she was wrong. | ever-growing/ever-increasing/ever-present etc (=always growing etc): the ever-increasing problems of our inner cities
3 how/what/who etc ever BrE old-fashioned used to add force to a question: How ever shall we get there? | Whatever are you doing?
4 did you ever! old-fashioned used to show your surprise, disbelief etc: Did you ever hear of such a thing!
5 ever so cold/wet/nice etc BrE spoken very cold, wet etc: The assistant was ever so helpful. | Thanks ever so much.
6 ever such a nice boy/cold day/pretty colour etc BrE a very nice, cold etc person or thing: You'll like her, she's ever such a nice girl.
7 Was sb ever AmE spoken used to add force to a statement: Was he ever mad! (=he was very angry)
8 Yours ever/Ever yours informal used at the end of a letter above the signature
9 ever and anon poetical from time to time

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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  • 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. [1913 Webster] No man ever yet hated his own flesh.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ever so — 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. [1913 Webster] No man ever yet hated his own… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • EveR-1 — ( ko. 에버원) is the world s second female android (gynoid), developed by a team of South Korean scientists from the [http://eng.kitech.re.kr/ Korea Institute of Industrial Technology] in Korea University of Science and Technology. The project is… …   Wikipedia

  • ever — 1. as intensifier. In informal conversation ever is sometimes used as an intensifier immediately after an interrogative word such as who, what, why, etc.: Who ever can that be? / What ever did you say to him? / Why ever should you think that?… …   Modern English usage

  • ever — [ev′ər] adv. [ME < OE æfre, prob. < WGmc bases of OE a, always, ever (see AYE1) + ? feorr, FAR] 1. at all times; always [lived happily ever after] 2. at any time [have you ever seen an eclipse?] 3. at all; by any chance; in any way …   English World dictionary

  • ever — ► ADVERB 1) at any time. 2) used in comparisons for emphasis: better than ever. 3) always. 4) increasingly; constantly: ever larger sums. 5) used for emphasis in questions expressing astonishment: why ever did you do it? ● ever and anon …   English terms dictionary

  • Ever — can refer to:* Ever is an adverb in the English language. * Eber (Standard Hebrew: unicode|ʿÉver) is a character in the Bible. * Ever is a Marvel Comics character. * Ever , an album by Love Spirals Downwards. * Ever , an album by the British… …   Wikipedia

  • ever- — [ evər ] prefix always or continuously: used with many adjectives and ing verb forms: paintings by Picasso, Renoir, and the ever popular Van Gogh the ever changing countryside ever increasing numbers of students …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • ever — O.E. æfre ever, at any time, always; no cognates in any other Germanic language; perhaps a contraction of a in feore, lit. ever in life (the expression a to fore is common in O.E. writings). First element is almost certainly related to O.E. a… …   Etymology dictionary

  • ever- — UK [evə(r)] US [evər] prefix always or continuously used with many adjectives and ‘ ing’ verb forms paintings by Picasso, Renoir, and the ever popular Van Gogh the ever changing countryside ever increasing numbers of students Thesaurus: prefixes …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ever — ist der Familienname von: Valter Ever (1902 1981), estnischer Leichtathlet Ita Ever (* 1931), estnische Schauspielerin Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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