[very] adj veri.er ; -est [ME verray, verry, fr. OF verai, fr. (assumed) VL veracus, alter. of L verac-, verax truthful, fr. verus true; akin to OE waer true, OHG wara trust, care, Gk era (acc.) favor] (13c) 1 a: properly entitled to the name or designation: true "the fierce hatred of a ~ woman --J. M. Barrie" b: actual, real "the ~ blood and bone of our grammar --H. L. Smith d.1972" c: simple, plain "in ~ truth"
2. a: being exactly as stated "the ~ heart of the city" b: exactly suitable or necessary "the ~ thing for the purpose" 3 a: absolute, utter "the veriest fool alive" b: unqualified, sheer "the ~ shame of it" 4--used as an intensive esp. to emphasize identity "before my ~ eyes"
5: mere, bare "the ~ thought terrified him"
6: being the same one: selfsame "the ~ man I saw" 7: special, particular "the ~ essence of truth is plainness and brightness --John Milton" syn see same
[2]very adv (14c) 1: in actual fact: truly "the ~ best store in town" "told the ~ same story"
2: to a high degree: exceedingly "~ hot" "didn't hurt ~ much"