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View synonyms for never

never

[ nev-er ]

adverb

  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.



never

/ ˈnɛvə /

adverb

  1. at no time; not ever
  2. certainly not; by no means; in no case
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


interjection

  1. Alsowell I never! surely not!
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Usage

In informal speech and writing, never can be used instead of not with the simple past tenses of certain verbs for emphasis ( I never said that; I never realized how clever he was ), but this usage should be avoided in serious writing
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Word History and Origins

Origin of never1

First recorded before 900; from Middle English, from Old English nǣfre, equivalent to ne “not” + ǣfre ever ( def ); neither ( def ), nought ( def )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of never1

Old English nǣfre, from ne not + æfre ever
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. never mind, don't bother; don't concern yourself.
  2. never cease to amaze. never cease to amaze.

More idioms and phrases containing never

  • better late than never
  • it never rains but it pours
  • lightning never strikes twice
  • now or never
  • watched pot never boils
  • wonders will never cease
  • you never can tell
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Example Sentences

The simple, awful truth is that free speech has never been particularly popular in America.

He looks like a man who should have had kids, but now never will.

In an email exchange a friend said many had repeated this same succinct review but they could never elaborate.

Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.

For many years afterward it was a never-ending topic of conversation, and is more or less talked of even to this day.

Bessires was included because he would never win it at any later date, but his doglike devotion made him a priceless subordinate.

Now, it immediately occurred to Davy that he had never in his whole life had all the plums he wanted at any one time.

Arches more graceful in form, or better fitted to defy the assaults of time, I have never seen.

The policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.

The King of Delhi had a hunting-lodge somewhere in the locality, but he had never seen the place.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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Nevelsonnever a dull moment