whatever

plural whatevers

1. slangA thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.

   As far as I'm concerned Alec is dead. Whatever they've got in there, that...whatever.

   1965 January 2, Sidney Ellis (story), Robert C. Dennis (teleplay), “The Brain of Colonel Barham”, in The Outer Limits, season 2, episode 15, spoken by Jennifer Barham (Elizabeth Perry), speaking of her husband, whose brain is being kept alive in a vat, production code 46

1. interrogativeWhat ever; emphatic form of 'what'.

   Good heavens! Whatever time is it?!

2. Regardless of the ... that; for any ... that.

   I will stick with you, whatever fate befalls us.

   1 more example

   Whatever your choice, there will be consequences.

3. Any ... that; of no matter what type or kind that.

   Whatever doubts I had were quickly dispelled.

   5 more examples

   Write down whatever thoughts come into your mind.

   So may whatever tempest mars ⁠Mid-ocean, spare thee, sacred bark; ⁠And balmy drops in summer dark Slide from the bosom of the stars.

   1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 28

   As far as I'm concerned Alec is dead. Whatever they've got in there, that...whatever.

   1965 January 2, Sidney Ellis (story), Robert C. Dennis (teleplay), “The Brain of Colonel Barham”, in The Outer Limits, season 2, episode 15, spoken by Jennifer Barham (Elizabeth Perry), speaking of her husband, whose brain is being kept alive in a vat, production code 46

   Whatever utility the work may have outside of its stated boundaries will be largely because of such a nonprovincial approach.

   1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page viii

   In an expression that reflects the pathos of a person without memory of a recent past, Milner quotes H.M. as saying, "Every day is alone in itself, whatever enjoyment I've had, and whatever sorrow I've had Right now, I'm wondering. Have I done or said anything amiss? That's what worries me. It's like waking from a dream; I just don't remember."

   1997, Warren S. Brown, Nancey C. Murphy, H. Newton Malony, Whatever Happened to the Soul?:, page 115

4. Any; of no matter what type or kind.

   He must be stopped, whatever the cost.

1. interrogativeWhat ever; emphasised form of 'what', used to ask which thing, event, circumstance, etc.

   Whatever do you mean?

   1 more example

   Whatever happened to Leon Trotsky? He got an ice pick That made his ears burn

   1977, Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Jet Black, “No More Heroes”, in No More Heroes, performed by The Stranglers

2. Regardless of anything that.

   Whatever happens, stay calm.

   1 more example

   Whatever he does, he will still lose the game.

3. fused relativeAnything that; all that.

   Do whatever works.

   3 more examples

   I’ll do whatever I can.

   And ſpight of Pride, and in thy Reaſon's ſpight, / One truth is clear; "Whatever Is, is Right."

   1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 16, lines 280–281

   The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.

   2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist

4. informalAnything; thing(s) of unspecified kind, or no matter what kind; sometimes used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.

   I don't need any of this stuff, so take whatever.

   2 more examples

   "As far as I'm concerned, Alec is dead. Whatever they've got in there, that — whatever —."

   1965 January 2, “The Brain of Colonel Barham”, in The Outer Limits, season 2, episode 15

   There's a pile of stuff on that table; clippings, pamphlets, posters, whatever, that needs to be sorted and filed.

   2021, Michael Kurland, Whatever the Cost

1. not comparableAt all; in any way; whatsoever.

   There is no point whatever in going on with this discussion.

   5 more examples

   He is quite unconscious; and, though your presence is a relief to me, you must remember that there is no hope - no hope whatever.

   1874, Dorothy Henrietta Boulger, True to her trust; or, 'Womanly past question', page 236

   So then arose the horrible confusion perpetuated ever since, of perversely different kinds of weights, jostling each other in Britain; Troy weight and Avoirdupois weight and Apothecaries' weight, wherein or whereamongst every one is at sea with regard to testing them, and no one whatever is satisfied.

   1864, Charles Piazzi Smyth, Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid, page 207

   Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

   1910, Emerson Hough, “The Purchase Price”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

   In the third place, the superelevation and alignment of the track, theoretically calculated for speeds of 70 to 75 m.p.h., was adequate for the 80 to 85 m.p.h. or so normally attained as maxima over the G.N. main line; but nothing whatever had been done to prepare it for the enormous increment over these figures that this run was to produce.

   1941 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 263

   His repetitive toil is his life and reality, and it goes on forever, and it is without any meaning whatever.

   1999, Louis P. Pojman, Life and Death: A Reader in Moral Problems, page 112

2. interrogativenot comparableIn what way; to what extent.

   Whatever does it matter now?

1. colloquialA holophrastic expression used to dismiss something that the speaker doesn't care about, doesn't think important, or doesn't want to consider or discuss any further. Sometimes conceived as an ellipsis of whatever you say, implying feigned deference: whatever you say [apparently must be true].

   Near-synonyms: meh, so what

   5 more examples

   So you broke it? Whatever! Get a grip.

   Go brush your teeth. – Whatever!

   "... between you and Irene." "Iris." "Whatever."

   1983 December 19, “The Looks of Love”, in Newhart, season 2, episode 9

   "... now it's Violet." "Iris." "Whatever."

   1983 December 19, “The Looks of Love”, in Newhart, season 2, episode 9

   "It's not silk, it's muslin." "Whatever."

   1991 January 28, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, page 66

   Synonyms: whatev, whevs, what the fuck ever, whatever you say, whoopee do, if you say so, meh, so what

comparative more whatever · superlative most whatever

1. colloquialUnexceptional or unimportant; blah.

   She's like so whatever / You can do so much better

   2007, Avril Lavigne, “Girlfriend”, in The Best Damn Thing

   1 more example

   All in all, I guess I shouldn't be complaining, but the rest of the show, imho, was very whatever-ish.

   1996, Mathias, “Lake Placid Comments”, in rec.music.phish (Usenet)

plural whatevers

1. colloquialSomething whose exact kind or nature is unimportant; a thingy.

   How would you feel if you're a plant elf, and your daily bonus is tied to the number of whatevers you produce, and then this big clumsy thing barges in and knocks your rate back for the whole week?

   2003, David Soubly, Santa, CEO, page 91

   1 more example

   I think it's the HYDRA, the group of whatevers that rule the world, those elitists that laugh at us, joke about their environmentalist sheeples doing their bidding while they sip the best wine on the planet, ride around in private jets, […]

   2011, Carol Ann Lindsay, The Planet of Comet Sense, page 55