never
1 adv Never means at no time in the past or at no time in the future.
ADV before v, ADV group/to-inf
I have never lost the weight I put on in my teens..., Never had he been so free of worry..., That was a mistake. We'll never do it again..., Never say that. Never, do you hear?..., He was never really healthy..., This is never to happen again.
2 adv Never means `not in any circumstances at all'.
ADV before v, ADV group/to-inf
I would never do anything to hurt him..., Even if you are desperate to get married, never let it show..., Divorce is never easy for children..., The golden rule is never to clean a valuable coin.
3 Never ever is an emphatic way of saying `never'.
never ever phrase PHR before v, be PHR group (emphasis)
I never, ever sit around thinking, `What shall I do next?'..., He's vowed never ever to talk about anything personal in public, ever again.
4 adv Never is used to refer to the past and means `not'.
He never achieved anything..., He waited until all the luggage was cleared, but Paula's never appeared..., I never knew the lad..., I'd never have dreamt of doing such a thing.
5 exclam You say `never!' to indicate how surprised or shocked you are by something that someone has just said.
SPOKEN, feelings
6 exclam You say `Well, I never' to indicate that you are very surprised about something that you have just seen or found out.
OLD-FASHIONED, SPOKEN, feelings `What were you up to there?'—`I was head of the information department.'—`Well I never!'
7 If you say that something will never do or would never do, you are saying, often humorously, that you think it is not appropriate or not suitable in some way.
will never do/would never do phrase oft it PHR to-inf
It would never do to have Henry there in her apartment..., I don't think it is an example of bad writing myself, otherwise I'd be agreeing with Leavis, and that would never do.
never-ending
If you describe something bad or unpleasant as never-ending, you are emphasizing that it seems to last a very long time. adj
(emphasis)
(=interminable)
...a never-ending series of scandals...
never-never land
Never-never land is an imaginary place where everything is perfect and no-one has any problems.
INFORMAL n-uncount also a N
We became suspended in some stately never-never land of pleasure, luxury and idleness.
