never
Use Never in a sentence
ər adverb
Idioms 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.
4.
never mind, don't bother; don't concern yourself.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To never
00:10
Never
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
never (ˈnɛvə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adv, —sentence substitute | |
| 1. | at no time; not ever |
| 2. | certainly not; by no means; in no case |
| —interj | |
| 3. | Also: well I never! surely not! |
| 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 | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
never
O.E. næfre, compound of ne "not, no" (from PIE base *ne- "no, not;" see un-) + æfre "ever." Early used as an emphatic form of not (as still in never mind). O.E., unlike its modern descendant, had the useful custom of attaching ne to words to create their negatives,
as in nabban for na habban "not to have." It. giammai, Fr. jamais, Sp. jamas are from L. iam "already" + magis "more;" thus lit. "at any time, ever," originally with a negative, but this has been so thoroughly absorbed in sense as to be formally omitted. Phrase never say die "don't despair" is from 1865, originally among sailors. Never mind "pay it no attention" is from 1795. Never Never Land is first attested in Australia as a name for the uninhabited northern part of Queensland, perhaps so called because anyone who had gone there once never wished to return. Meaning "imaginary, illusory or utopian place" first attested 1900 in Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
never
In addition to the idioms beginning with never, also see 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Reservoirs along the river may never rise to previous levels.
At the same time, public interest in the camp has never been higher.
The capacitive stylus has turned out to be surprisingly useful for a lot of things, but up until now it was never a flirting tool.
The space was supposed to hold a lamppost, but that never showed up, so the tiny square had grown into an eyesore.
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