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very - 6 dictionary results
ver⋅y
[ver-ee] 
adverb, adjective, (Obsolete
) ver⋅i⋅er, ver⋅i⋅est.–adverb
| 1. | in a high degree; extremely; exceedingly: A giant is very tall. |
| 2. | (used as an intensive emphasizing superlatives or stressing identity or oppositeness): the very best thing; in the very same place as before. |
–adjective
| 3. | precise; particular: That is the very item we want. |
| 4. | mere: The very thought of it is distressing. |
| 5. | sheer; utter: He wept from the very joy of knowing he was safe. |
| 6. | actual: He was caught in the very act of stealing. |
| 7. | being such in the true or fullest sense of the term; extreme: the very heart of the matter. |
| 8. | true; genuine; worthy of being called such: the very God; a very fool. |
| 9. | rightful or legitimate. |
Origin:
1200–50; ME < AF; OF verai (F vrai) < VL *vērācus, for L vērāx truthful, equiv. to vēr(us) true (c. OE wǣr, G wahr true, correct) + -āx adj. suffix
1200–50; ME < AF; OF verai (F vrai) < VL *vērācus, for L vērāx truthful, equiv. to vēr(us) true (c. OE wǣr, G wahr true, correct) + -āx adj. suffix
Synonyms:
5. pure, simple, plain.
5. pure, simple, plain.
Usage note:
Past participles that have become established as adjectives can, like most English adjectives, be modified by the adverb very: a very driven person; We were very concerned for your safety. Very does not modify past participles that are clearly verbal; for example, The lid was very sealed is not an idiomatic construction, while The lid was very tightly sealed is. Sometimes confusion arises over whether a given past participle is adjectival and thus able to be modified by very without an intervening adverb. However, there is rarely any objection to the use of this intervening adverb, no matter how the past participle is functioning. Such use often occurs in edited writing: We were very much relieved to find the children asleep. They were very greatly excited by the news. I feel very badly cheated.
Past participles that have become established as adjectives can, like most English adjectives, be modified by the adverb very: a very driven person; We were very concerned for your safety. Very does not modify past participles that are clearly verbal; for example, The lid was very sealed is not an idiomatic construction, while The lid was very tightly sealed is. Sometimes confusion arises over whether a given past participle is adjectival and thus able to be modified by very without an intervening adverb. However, there is rarely any objection to the use of this intervening adverb, no matter how the past participle is functioning. Such use often occurs in edited writing: We were very much relieved to find the children asleep. They were very greatly excited by the news. I feel very badly cheated.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To very
| ver·y (věr'ē) adv.
[Middle English verrai, from Old French verai, true, from Vulgar Latin *vērācus, from Latin vērāx, vērāc-, truthful, from vērus, true; see wērə-o- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: In general, very is not used alone to modify a past participle. Thus we may say of a book, for example, that it has been very much praised, very much criticized, very much applauded, and so on, but not that it has been very praised, very criticized, or very applauded. However, when past participle forms are used as adjectives, modification by a bare very, or by analogous adverbs such as quite, is acceptable: there can be no objection to phrases such as a very creased handkerchief, a very celebrated singer, or a very polished performance. In some cases there is disagreement as to whether a particular participle can be properly used as an adjective: over the years objections have been raised to very immediately preceding delighted, interested, annoyed, pleased, disappointed, and irritated. All these words are now well established as adjectives, as indicated by the fact that they can be used attributively (a delighted audience, a pleased look, a disappointed young man) as well as by other syntactic criteria. But the status of other participles is still in flux. Some speakers accept phrases such as very appreciated, very astonished, or very heartened, while others prefer alternatives using very much. What is more, some participles allow treatment as adjectives in one sense but not another: one may speak of a very inflated reputation, for example, but not, ordinarily, of a very inflated balloon. As a result, there is no sure way to tell which participles may be modified by a bare very—syntactic tests such as the use of the participle as an attributive adjective will themselves yield different judgments for different speakers—and writers must trust their ears. When in doubt, the use of very much is generally the safer alternative. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Very
Ver"y\, a. [Compar. Verier; superl. Veriest.] [OE. verai, verray, OF. verai, vrai, F. vrai, (assumed) LL. veracus, for L. verax true, veracious, fr. verus true; akin to OHG. & OS. w[=a]r, G. wahr, D. waar; perhaps originally, that is or exists, and akin to E. was. Cf. Aver, v. t., Veracious, Verdict, Verity.] True; real; actual; veritable. Whether thou be my very son Esau or not. --Gen. xxvii. 21. He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. --Prov. xvii. 9. The very essence of truth is plainness and brightness. --Milton. I looked on the consideration of public service or public ornament to be real and very justice. --Burke. Note: Very is sometimes used to make the word with which it is connected emphatic, and may then be paraphrased by same, self-same, itself, and the like. "The very hand, the very words." --Shak. "The very rats instinctively have quit it." --Shak. "Yea, there where very desolation dwells." --Milton. Very is used occasionally in the comparative degree, and more frequently in the superlative. "Was not my lord the verier wag of the two?" --Shak. "The veriest hermit in the nation." --Pope. "He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood." --Hawthorne. Very Reverend. See the Note under Reverend.Very
Ver"y\, adv. In a high degree; to no small extent; exceedingly; excessively; extremely; as, a very great mountain; a very bright sum; a very cold day; the river flows very rapidly; he was very much hurt.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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very
c.1250, verray "true, real, genuine," later "actual, sheer" (c.1390), from Anglo-Fr. verrai, O.Fr. verai "true," from V.L. *veracus, from L. verax (gen. veracis) "truthful," from verus "true," from PIE *weros- (cf. O.E. wær "a compact," O.Du., O.H.G. war, Du. waar, Ger. wahr "true;" Welsh gwyr, O.Ir. fir "true;" O.C.S. vera "faith"). Meaning "greatly, extremely" is first recorded 1448. Used as a pure intensive since M.E.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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very
In addition to the idioms beginning with very, also see all very well; what's the (the very) idea.
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.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
