never

/ˈnɛvər/

/ˈnɛvə/

Other forms: nevers

The adverb never means "at no time," or "not at all." If you're never going to win a Monopoly game against your brother, you won't beat him next week, next year, or when you're both 80 years old.

Something that never happens didn't occur in the past and won't ever occur in the future, either. Never is a blunt, absolute kind of word. If you wonder whether your dad will let you drive his BMW some day, and he responds, "That's never going to happen," you can forget about it. The Old English root is næfre, a compound of ne, "not or no," and æfre, "ever."

Definitions of never

1. adverb

   not ever; at no time in the past or future
   “I have never been to China”

   “I shall never forget this day”

   “had never seen a circus”

   “never on Sunday”

   “I will never marry you!”

   synonyms: ne'er

   antonyms:

   ever

   at all times; all the time and on every occasion
2. adverb

   not at all; certainly not; not in any circumstances
   “never fear”

   “bringing up children is never easy”

   “that will never do”

   “what is morally wrong can never be politically right”