Dictionary Definition
however adv
1 despite anything to the contrary (usually
following a concession); "although I'm a little afraid, however I'd
like to try it"; "while we disliked each other, nevertheless we
agreed"; "he was a stern yet fair master"; "granted that it is
dangerous, all the same I still want to go" [syn: nevertheless, withal, still, yet, all the
same, even so, nonetheless, notwithstanding]
2 by contrast; on the other hand; "the first part
was easy; the second, however, took hours"
3 to whatever degree or extent; "The results,
however general, are important"; "they have begun, however
reluctantly, to acknowledge the legitimacy of some of the
opposition's concerns"
4 in whatever way or manner; "Victory, however it
was brought about, was sweet"; "however he did it, it was very
clever"
5 in what way or manner or by what means
(`however' is sometimes used as an intensive form of `how'); "how
did you catch the snake?"; "he told us how he did it"; "however did
you get here so soon?" [syn: how]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
Adverb
- Nevertheless,
nonetheless,
even so,
that
said, in spite of
this.
- He told me not to do it; however, I did it.
- In the context of "chiefly|UK|as an intensified form in
interrogatives": In what way; how.
- However did you do that?
Usage notes
- sense nevertheless Strunk and White's The Elements of Style argues that the adverb however, in its sense of "nevertheless", should be avoided at the beginning of a sentence. Other style guides argue that however is overused in this sense, whether or not at the start of a sentence.
Translations
nevertheless
- Belarusian: аднак (adnak), як бы там ні было (jak by tam ni było)
- Bulgarian: въпреки това
- Dutch: daarentegen, echter
- Esperanto: kontraŭe
- Finnish: kuitenkin
- French: cependant, pourtant, néanmoins, toutefois
- German: jedoch
- Hebrew: למרות זאת, אף על פי כן
- Hungarian: mégis, viszont, azonban
- Italian: però, nonostante
- Japanese: しかし (shikashi) / が (ga) / でも (demo) / けれども (keredomo) / けれど (keredo) / けども (kedomo) / けど (kedo)
- Polish: jednakże
- Portuguese: no entanto, entretanto
- Russian: однако (odnako)
- Scots: houaniver
- Spanish: sin embargo
- Turkish: bununla birlikte, ancak
intensifier: in what way
- Portuguese: por mais que
- ttbc Indonesian: tapi / tetapi / namun
Conjunction
Usage notes
- sense although The use of however as a conjunction meaning "although" is identical to its use as a clause-initial adverb meaning "nevertheless", except in punctuation (when written) and in prosody (when spoken). Hence, the following proscribed sentence:(proscribed) He told me not to do it, however I did it.is equivalent to the following accepted one:(accepted) He told me not to do it; however, I did it.In particular, when used as a conjunction in this sense, however always appears between the clauses it connects; it does not introduce a true subordinate clause that can be moved to the start of an independent clause, because a conjunctive adverb cannot do that.
Translations
in whatever manner
- Dutch: eender hoe
- Finnish: miten tahansa
- Portuguese: de qualquer modo
- Swedish: hur som helst
References
- Webster 1913
- Dictionary.com
- "however" in Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2007 Microsoft Corporation.
- "however (degree)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2007.
- "however (despite)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2007.
- "however (way)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2007.
- "however" in Compact Oxford English Dictionary, © Oxford University Press, 2007.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
- Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
after all, again, albeit, all the same, although, anyhow, anyway, anywise, at all, at all events,
at any rate, but, by any
means, come what may, even,
even so, except, for all
that, how, howbeit, in any case, in any
event, in any way, in what way, irregardless, just the
same, nevertheless,
no matter how, no matter what, nohow, nonetheless, notwithstanding,
on, per contra, rather, regardless, save, still, though, when, yet, yowl