never

American  

[nev-er] / ˈnɛv ər /

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.

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idioms

1. never cease to amaze. never cease to amaze.

2. never mind, don't bother; don't concern yourself.

never British  

/ ˈnɛvə /

adverb

1. at no time; not ever

2. certainly not; by no means; in no case

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interjection

1. Also: well I never!.  surely not!

never More Idioms  

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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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

Etymology

Origin of never

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

Example Sentences

“A lot of people who have never heard of Ryanair suddenly google it and go: ‘Jesus, look at the airfares.’”

From The Wall Street Journal

If they never left the house, they might have never seen for themselves that the promised event never happened, and therefore remained convinced by AI slop that it took place.

From Salon

“It was remarkably insignificant. He was never going to invade Greenland. It was never real,” Newsom told reporters.

From Salon

I could talk endlessly about saving and compounding, but I had never examined why my wife and I spent the way we did.

From MarketWatch

Whether the panels actually displaced coal was never the primary objective.

From MarketWatch