I. (ˈ) ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ pronoun
Etymology: Middle English, from what (I) + ever
1.
a. : anything that : everything that
take whatever you want
whatever Earth, all-bearing mother, yields — John Milton
b. : no matter what
seeing only his faults, and seeing them as unforgivable in his case whatever they may be elsewhere — C.H.Sykes
whatever the cause, this animosity grew deeper and deeper — E.V.Burkholder
c. : anything at all : any of various other things that might also be mentioned : what not
any appliance — stove, lantern, or whatever — that is fueled by gasoline — New Yorker
until you find your buffalo or rhinoceros or whatever — Alan Moorehead
a marriage contract — whether it is monogamous or polygamous or whatever — Weston La Barre
workers constantly walk in … arguing, complaining, or whatever — Time
d. : something similar but hard to identify or classify with certainty
had lain abed some days with the measles or whatever — Mary Austin
wouldn't have had a moustache when a small boy or whatever — Henry James †1916
2. : what I 1a(1) — used in questions expressing astonishment or perplexity
whatever do you mean by that
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from what (III) + ever
1.
a. : any … that : all … that
and buy peace … on whatever terms could be obtained — C.S.Forester
have provided most of the backbone for whatever musical tradition we have — Virgil Thomson
b. : no matter what
by whatever circumstances he had been led to a hatred of the slave power and a heightened devotion to the Union, the change was one which in a measure transformed him — W.J.Ghent
2.
a. : any … at all
men and women of whatever scholastic training or none at all — Alvin Johnson
b. : being in existence : of any kind at all — used for emphasis after the substantive it modifies
any language whatever — W.D.Preston
no damage whatever — A.T.Weaver
the most entrancing young girl whatever — Carl Van Doren
III. adverb
Etymology: what (II) + ever
: in any case
but how far could I trust them, and in what way were they different from the trustees? Whatever, I was committed; I'd learn in the process of working with them, I thought — Ralph Ellison