/awl"wayz, -weez/ , adv.
1. every time; on every occasion; without exception: He always works on Saturday.
2. all the time; continuously; uninterruptedly: There is always some pollution in the air.
3. forever: Will you always love me?
4. in any event; at any time; if necessary: She can always move back with her parents.
[ 1200-50; ME alwayes, alleweyes, alles weis, gen. (denoting distribution; cf. ONCE) of all wei; alle- lost its gen. ending and was treated as a compounding element under influence of alle wey ALWAY. See ALL, WAY, ALWAY, -S 1 ]
Syn. 1. regularly, invariably, consistently. 2, 3 . perpetually, everlastingly, continuously. Both ALWAYS and EVER refer to uniform or perpetual continuance. ALWAYS often expresses or implies repetition as producing the uniformity or continuance: The sun always rises in the east. EVER implies an unchanging sameness throughout: Natural law is ever to be reckoned with.