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Synonyms

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?
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
"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

Etymology

Origin of whoever

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One bit of advice to whoever gets the job: Maybe don’t spend so much time talking about the Dow.

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026

So whoever controls those AI systems could have a huge impact.”

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

That should shut down whoever is trying to wheedle you into gimmicky strategies, or chasing the returns of recently hot assets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

And that is staying in the top flight so Spurs - and whoever the full-time successor to sacked Thomas Frank will be - can start afresh in the summer as a top-flight club.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

When she turned to give a nervous smile to whoever it was, she recognized the pink scar beside his left eye.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

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.