never
[ nev-er ]
/ ˈnɛv ər /
adverb
not ever; at no time: Such an idea never occurred to me.
not at all; absolutely not: never mind; This will never do.
to no extent or degree: He was never the wiser for his experience.
Idioms for never
never mind,
don't bother; don't concern yourself.
Origin of never
Words nearby never
Example sentences from the Web for never
British Dictionary definitions for never
never
/ (ˈnɛvə) /
adverb, sentence substitute
at no time; not ever
certainly not; by no means; in no case
interjection
Also: well I never!
surely not!
Word Origin for never
Old English
nǣfre, from
ne not +
æfre
ever
usage for never
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
Idioms and Phrases with never
never