I. adjective
1.
Synonyms: authentic 2, bona fide, genuine, indubitable, real, sure-enough, true, undoubted, unquestionable, veritable
Related Word: hundred-percent, perfect; correct, exact, right
Contrasted words: fake, fraudulent, mock, sham
2.
Synonyms: precise 4, exact
Related Word: especial, express, special
3.
Synonyms: perfect 3, ideal, model
4.
being as stated without addition or superfluity
the very thought of it makes me ill
Synonyms: bare, mere
5.
Synonyms: same 1, exact, identical, selfsame
Idioms: (the) very same
II. adverb
1.
to a high or exceptional degree
a very successful meeting
Synonyms: ||awful, awfully, ||big, ||crazy, damned, ||dreadful, dreadfully, eminently, exceedingly, exceptionally, extremely, greatly, highly, hugely, insatiably, ||larruping, ||main, mightily, mighty, ||monstrous, ||mortacious, mortally, most, much, notably, parlous, pesky, ||pure, rattling, remarkably, right, ||right smart, snapping, so, spanking, staving, strikingly, super, surpassingly, terribly, thoroughly, too, vitally, whacking, whopping
Related Word: passing, quite, somewhat; perfectly, seriously, significantly, tellingly
Idioms: nothing if not
Contrasted words: inconsiderably, little, scarcely, slightly
2.
in actual fact
told the very same story
Synonyms: actually, de facto, genuinely, really, truly, veritably
Related Word: exactly, precisely; almost, nearly, practically, well-nigh
Idioms: in point of fact, in truth
Contrasted words: apparently, ostensibly, outwardly, seemingly