View synonyms for

never

[nev-er]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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.

never

/ ˈ��ɛ��ə /

adverb

at no time; not ever
certainly not; by no means; in no case

interjection

Also: well I never!.��surely not!

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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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Word History and Origins

Origin of never¹

First recorded before 900; from Middle English, from Old English ��ǣ�ڰ��, equivalent to ne “not” + ǣ�ڰ�� ever ( def. ); neither ( def. ), nought ( def. )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of never¹

Old English ��ǣ�ڰ��, from ne not + æ�ڰ�� _ever

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

never cease to amaze. never cease to amaze.
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.

"We never want to see two McLarens having contact," he said.

From

Faced with fiscal austerity "poorer schools were never given a chance to develop a sustainable platform for teaching and learning", he said.

From

Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the decision to launch a national inquiry, telling the programme on Sunday that ministers "never dismissed the concerns of victims" of grooming gangs.

From

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the appointment "historic" at a time "when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital".

From

"There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened and I'm not going to get into that," the Israeli prime minister said.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Nevelson never a dull moment

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