51Թ

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View synonyms for

never

[nev-er]

adverb

  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.



never

/ ˈɛə /

adverb

  1. at no time; not ever

  2. certainly not; by no means; in no case

“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

interjection

  1. Also: well I never!.surely not!

“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
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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
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of never1

First recorded before 900; from Middle English, from Old English ǣڰ, equivalent to ne “not” + ǣڰ ever ( def. ); neither ( def. ), nought ( def. )
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of never1

Old English ǣڰ, from ne not + æڰ ever
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. never cease to amaze. never cease to amaze.

  2. never mind, don't bother; don't concern yourself.

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.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Now, however, it seems the world may never know which of them is truly its fastest runner.

From

“There has never been a successful social movement in this country that has not had a great soundtrack,” Morello said.

From

“I will never forget him holding me on that balcony,” she said as a defense lawyer challenged the date she provided with evidence of Combs’s being elsewhere at a hotel across the country.

From

“We’ve all felt hunger…But most of us born here have never feared stepping outside our door,” he wrote on Instagram.

From

The debt was never repaid and the islands have remained part of Scotland ever since then.

From

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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.

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Nevelsonnever a dull moment