Link Centre Dictionary

never

ne·ver

UK/ˈnɛv.ə/ US/ˈnɛv.ɚ/ very common

adverb

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!”
Synonyms
Antonyms
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”

Origin

From Middle English nevere, navere, nævere, from Old English nǣfre (“never”), equivalent to ne + ever.

Phrases

  • a barking dog never bites
  • a dumb priest never got a parish
  • a magician never reveals his secrets
  • a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor
  • a watched kettle never boils
  • a watched pot never boils
  • a watched pot never boils over
  • a wild goose never laid a tame egg
  • never ever

Related words

Word family

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.