whoever

American  

[hoo-ev-er] / huˈɛv ər /

pronoun

possessive

whosever,

objective

whomever

1. whatever person; anyone that.

   Whoever did it should be proud. Ask whoever is there. Tell it to whomever you like.

2. no matter who.

   I won't do it, whoever asks.

3. who? what person? (used to express astonishment, disbelief, disdain, etc.).

   Whoever is that? Whoever told you such a thing?

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whoever British  

/ huːˈɛvə /

pronoun

1. any person who; anyone that

   whoever wants it can have it

2. no matter who

   I'll come round tomorrow, whoever may be here

3. an intensive form of who, used in questions

   whoever could have thought that?

4. informal an unknown or unspecified person

   give those to John, or Cathy, or whoever

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Etymology

Origin of whoever

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; who, ever

Example Sentences

"I think whoever needs a home could do with a home," she said.

From BBC

Maggie or whoever took down her statement was confused.

From Literature

Whoever it is won’t be someone interested in pretending it’s still 2008, or 2012, or even 2018.

From Slate

I would hope it would be hard for you—whoever you are—to sit through too.

From Slate

Papa frowned and said, “There must be more to this than we know about. I can understand a fellow paying two dollars for a monkey, but whoever heard of anyone paying a hundred dollars for one.”

From Literature

Related Words

• someone