WHATEVER


Meaning of WHATEVER in English

I. hwät-ˈe-vər, wät-, (h)wət- pronoun

Date: 14th century

1.

a. : anything or everything that

take whatever you want

b. : no matter what

whatever he says, they won't believe him

c. : whatnot

enjoys skiing, hiking, or whatever

2. : what 1a(1) — used to express astonishment or perplexity

whatever do you mean by that

II. adjective

Date: 14th century

1.

a. : any…that : all…that

buy peace…on whatever terms could be obtained — C. S. Forester

b. : no matter what

money, in whatever hands, will confer power — Samuel Johnson

2. : of any kind at all — used after the substantive it modifies with any or with an expressed or implied negative

in any order whatever — W. G. Moulton

no food whatever

III. adverb

Date: 1870

: in any case : whatever the case may be — sometimes used interjectionally to suggest the unimportance of an issue or decision between alternatives

go see a movie, watch TV,— whatever

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.