always
[awl-weyz, -weez]
- every time; on every occasion; without exception: He always works on Saturday.
- all the time; continuously; uninterruptedly: There is always some pollution in the air.
- forever: Will you always love me?
- in any event; at any time; if necessary: She can always move back with her parents.
Origin of always
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. regularly, invariably, consistently. 2, 3. perpetually, everlastingly, continuously.
Synonym study
2, 3. Both always and ever refer to uniform or perpetual continuance. Always often expresses or implies repetition as producing the uniformity or continuance: The sun always rises in the east. Ever implies an unchanging sameness throughout: Natural law is ever to be reckoned with.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for always
Contemporary Examples
He identifies as transgender on Scruff but not always on Grindr.
They are always suspended over a precipice, dangling by a slender thread that shows every sign of snapping.
The motives were most always harmless, and only sometimes ethically questionable.
A guard is manning the door, which is always kept ajar so she can be monitored.
I always wanted my life to be that way, and it became that way.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s GreatnessMarlow Stern
January 7, 2015
Historical Examples
If it does not always tell us what to do, it always cautions us what not to do.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
Soon as I looked at her it seemed to me I'd known her always.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
When he did go it was always understood to be positively for not more than two weeks.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
I've always been taken with the chap; and I'm very glad you read him correctly.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
I am more grateful to you than words can utter—and I will always be glad to do anything for you.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
always
- without exception; on every occasion; every timehe always arrives on time
- continually; repeatedly
- in any caseyou could always take a day off work
- informal for ever; without endour marriage is for always
Also (archaic): alway
Word Origin
C13 alles weiss, from Old English ealne weg, literally: all the way; see all, way
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for always
adv.
mid-14c., compound of Old English phrase ealne weg "always, quite, perpetually," literally "all the way," with accusative of space or distance, though the oldest recorded usages refer to time. The adverbial genitive -s appeared early 13c. and is now the standard, though the variant alway survived into 1800s. OED speculates allway was originally of space or distance, "but already in the oldest Eng. transferred to an extent of time."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper