1.
[syn: never, ne'er]
2. not at all; certainly not; not in any circumstances;
- Example: "never fear"
- Example: "bringing up children is never easy"
- Example: "that will never do"
- Example: "what is morally wrong can never be politically right"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Never \Nev"er\ (n[e^]v"[~e]r), adv. [AS. n[=ae]fre; ne not, no +
[=ae]fre ever.]
1. Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past,
present, or future. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Death still draws nearer, never seeming near.
--Pope.
[1913 Webster]
2. In no degree; not in the least; not.
[1913 Webster]
Whosoever has a friend to guide him, may carry his
eyes in another man's head, and yet see never the
worse. --South.
[1913 Webster]
And he answered him to never a word. --Matt. xxvii.
14.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Never is much used in composition with present
participles to form adjectives, as in never-ceasing,
never-dying, never-ending, never-fading, never-failing,
etc., retaining its usual signification.
[1913 Webster]
Never a deal, not a bit. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Never so, as never before; more than at any other time, or
in any other circumstances; especially; particularly; --
now often expressed or replaced by ever so.
Ask me never so much dower and gift. --Gen. xxxiv.
12.
A fear of battery, . . . though never so well
grounded, is no duress. --Blackstone.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
never
adv 1: not ever; at no time in the past or future; "I have never
been to China"; "I shall never forget this day"; "had
never seen a circus"; "never on Sunday"; "I will never
marry you!" [syn: never, ne'er] [ant: always,
e'er, ever]
2: not at all; certainly not; not in any circumstances; "never
fear"; "bringing up children is never easy"; "that will never
do"; "what is morally wrong can never be politically right"