never

never
never
As a negative adverb, never refers primarily to repeated or continuous non-occurrence over a period of time: They never answer letters / It never rained at all last month. It should only be used informally to refer to one occasion, when a simple negative would be equally appropriate: I phoned you but you never rang back [better, you didn't ring back]; it is used with similar meaning in a number of fixed expressions such as never fear and well I never. It is also used idiomatically as an emphatic negative with reference to future time: You'll never catch the train now. The emphatic form never ever (sometimes with a comma between them) is also restricted to informal contexts:

• She continued, a little too vehemently, ‘I've never, ever been bored’ —Maggie Gee, 1985

• She was like a mother, but she could never ever be my mother —fiction website, AmE 2001.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Synonyms:
, , / , , /


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Never — Nev er (n[e^]v [ e]r), adv. [AS. n[=ae]fre; ne not, no + [=ae]fre ever.] 1. Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past, present, or future. Shak. [1913 Webster] Death still draws nearer, never seeming near. Pope. [1913 Webster] 2. In no… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Never so — Never Nev er (n[e^]v [ e]r), adv. [AS. n[=ae]fre; ne not, no + [=ae]fre ever.] 1. Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past, present, or future. Shak. [1913 Webster] Death still draws nearer, never seeming near. Pope. [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Never — may refer to: Contents 1 Popular culture 2 Places 3 See also …   Wikipedia

  • Never — Never, Never Gonna Give You Up Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Never, Never Gonna Give You Up puede hacer referencia a: Never Gonna Give You Up, canción de Barry White. Never Gonna Give You Up, canción de Rick Astley. Obtenido de Never, Never Gonna …   Wikipedia Español

  • Never — Heinrich Never (* in Wismar; † 1553 ebenda) war Mönch des Franziskanerordens im Grauen Kloster in Wismar und betrieb frühzeitig von Wismar aus die Reformation in Nordostdeutschland. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Biografie 2 Werke 3 Literatur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • NEVER — История группы Never уходит корнями в сентябрь 1988 года, когда на Дмитровской земле встретились волею случая попавшие на принудительно колхозные работы Марат Бахирев и Юра Комстачев (ветераны Долгопрудненского рок движения) и Алексей Бухарский,… …   Русский рок. Малая энциклопедия

  • Never.no — Infobox Company company name = never.no AS company company type = Private genre = Software foundation = 1999 founder = location city = Oslo location country = Norway industry = Broadcast and Media products = Auto Dialogue System Interactivity… …   Wikipedia

  • never — /nev euhr/, adv. 1. not ever; at no time: Such an idea never occurred to me. 2. not at all; absolutely not: never mind; This will never do. 3. to no extent or degree: He was never the wiser for his experience. 4. never mind, don t bother; don t… …   Universalium

  • never — See: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS, LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • never — See: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS, LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • never — adverb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English nǣfre, from ne not + ǣfre ever more at no Date: before 12th century 1. not ever ; at no time < I never met her > 2. not in any degree ; not under any condition < never the wiser for his… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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