forever

See also: for ever

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English for ever, for evere, equivalent to for +‎ ever.

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /fəˈɹɛvə(ɹ)/
  • (US) IPA(key): /fəˈɹɛvɚ/, [fəˈɹɛvɚ], [fɚˈɛvɚ], [fɔɹˈɛvɚ]
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛvə(r)

Adverb

forever (not comparable)

  1. (duration) For all time, for all eternity; for a lifetime; for an infinite amount of time.
    I shall love you forever.
    • 1839, Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy, page 95:
      Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.
  2. (duration, colloquial, hyperbolic) For a very long time, a seeming eternity.
    • 1988, Anne Tyler, Breathing Lessons, Chapter 1
      She and Serena had been friends forever. Or nearly forever: forty-two years, beginning with Miss Kimmel's first grade.
    We had to wait forever to get inside.
  3. (frequency) Constantly or frequently.
    You are forever nagging me.
    • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5
      Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch.

Usage notes
  • In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the spelling for ever may be used instead of forever for the senses "for all time" and "for a long time". In Canada and the United States, generally only forever is used, regardless of sense.

Synonyms
The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}} to add them to the appropriate sense(s).

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

forever (plural forevers)

  1. An extremely long time.
    I haven't seen him in forever!
    • 2001 September, Michael Knisley, “The Braves' last stand”, in Sporting News, volume 225, number 36, page 12:
      It's been a fortnight of forevers since the Braves could count on a late-game comeback.
    • 2007, Ruth O'Callaghan, Where acid has etched
      In the airport, holiday lovers kiss, mouth forevers, the usual argot betrays you. Desire makes love dull.
  2. (colloquial) a mythical time in the infinite future that will never come.
    Sure, I'd be happy to meet with you on the 12th of forever.

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.