Link Centre Dictionary

even

UK/əˈvɛn/ US/ˈɪi̯vən] ~ [ˈɪi̯vn̩/ very common informal
adverb (4) adjective (6) verb (3)

adverb

1.

used as an intensive especially to indicate something unexpected

  • “even an idiot knows that”
  • “declined even to consider the idea”
  • “I don”
2.

in spite of; notwithstanding

  • “even when he is sick, he works”
  • “even with his head start she caught up with him”
3.

to a greater degree or extent; used with comparisons

  • “looked sick and felt even worse”
  • “an even (or still) more interesting problem”
  • “still another problem must be solved”
  • “a yet sadder tale”
Synonyms
4.

to the full extent

  • “loyal even unto death”

adjective

1.

divisible by two

Antonyms
2.

equal in degree or extent or amount; or equally matched or balanced

  • “even amounts of butter and sugar”
  • “on even terms”
  • “it was a fifty-fifty (or even) split”
  • “had a fifty-fifty (or even) chance”
  • “an even fight”
Synonyms
Similar
3.

being level or straight or regular and without variation as e.g. in shape or texture; or being in the same plane or at the same height as something else (i.e. even with)

  • “an even application of varnish”
  • “an even floor”
  • “the road was not very even”
  • “the picture is even with the window”
Antonyms
Similar
4.

symmetrically arranged

  • “even features”
  • “regular features”
  • “a regular polygon”
Synonyms
Similar
5.

occurring at fixed intervals

  • “a regular beat”
  • “the even rhythm of his breathing”
Synonyms
Similar
6.

of the score in a contest

  • “the score is tied”
Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

make level or straight

  • “level the ground”
Synonyms
2.

become even or more even

  • “even out the surface”
Synonyms
3.

make even or more even

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English even, from Old English efn (“flat; level, even, equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)em-no- (“equal, straight; flat, level, even”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian íeuwen (“even, flat”), West Frisian even (“even”), Alemannic German ëben (“even”), Cimbrian ébane (“even”), Dutch even (“even, equal, same”), effen (“leveled”), German eben (“even, flat, level”), Danish jævn (“even, flat, smooth”), Icelandic jafn (“even”), Norwegian Bokmål jevn (“even, smooth”), Norwegian Nynorsk jamn (“even, smooth”), Swedish jämn (“even, level, smooth”), Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌽𐍃 (ibns, “even”), Old Cornish eun (“equal, right”) (attested in Vocabularium Cornicum eun-hinsic (“iustus, i. e., just”)), Old Breton eun (“equal, right”) (attested in Eutychius Glossary eunt (“aequus, i. e., equal”)), Middle Breton effn, Breton eeun, Sanskrit अम्नस् (amnás, “(adverb) just, just now; at once”). The verb descends from Middle English evenen, from Old English efnan; the adverb from Middle English evene, from Old English efne. The traditional proposal connecting the Germanic adjective with the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂eym- (Latin imāgō (“picture...

Phrases

  • all even
  • break even
  • break-even point
  • call it even
  • can't even
  • don't even think about it
  • doubly even
  • draw even
  • even a blind pig can find an acorn
  • even a blind pig can find an acorn once in a while
  • even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while
  • even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.