English

Etymology

From Middle English whan evere, whanne ever, whanne evere, whener, when ever; equivalent to when +‎ -ever.

Pronunciation

Conjunction

whenever

  1. At any time that.
    Visit whenever you want to.
    • 1987 December 21, Richard Nixon, Letters to Trump, Winning Team Publishing, published 2023, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 10:
      I did not see the program, but Mrs. Nixon told me that you were great on the Donahue Show.
      As you can imagine, she is an expert on politics and she predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!
  2. At the (single) time that, no matter when.
    Tomorrow I'll get up whenever the sun rises.
  3. Every time that.
    Whenever he has a pair of aces, his eyelids twitch.
    • 2024 January 24, Peter Plisner, “Rising to the University challenge”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 61:
      Working around an ancient monument has meant having an archaeologist on site whenever there were excavations.
  4. Regardless of the time that.
    Income must be reported in the period in which it is earned, whenever payment is actually received.
  5. (Ireland, regional US, nonstandard) When.
    Whenever I was a child, I lived in Arkansas.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Adverb

whenever

  1. (interrogative, dated) When ever: emphatic form of when.
    Whenever will I find time to finish that jigsaw?
  2. (colloquial) At any time.
    Feel free to visit whenever.

Translations

See also

Here-, there-, and where- words
Pronominal adverbs
hence here hither how that thence there this thither what when whence where whither why
about — hereabout — — — — thereabout — — — whenabout — whereabout — —
abouts — hereabouts — — — — thereabouts — — — whenabouts — whereabouts — —
above — hereabove — — — — thereabove — — — — — whereabove — —
across — — — — — — thereacross — — — — — — — —
after henceafter hereafter — — — thenceafter thereafter — — — — whenceafter whereafter — —
afters — hereafters — — — — thereafters — — — — — whereafters — —
again — — — — — — thereagain — — — — — — — —
against — hereagainst — — — — thereagainst — — — — — whereagainst — —
along — — — — — — therealong — — — — — wherealong — —
among — hereamong — — — — thereamong — — — — — whereamong — —
amongst — — — — — — thereamongst — — — — — whereamongst — —
anent1 — hereanent — — — — thereanent — — — — — whereanent — —
around — — — — — — therearound — — — — — wherearound — —
as — — — — — — — — — — whenas — whereas — —
at — hereat — — — — thereat — — — — — whereat — —
away — hereaway — — thataway — thereaway thisaway — — — — whereaway — —
beit — — — howbeit — — — — — — — — — — —
before — herebefore — — — — therebefore — — — — — wherebefore — —
beside — — — — — — therebeside — — — — — wherebeside — —
between — — — — — — therebetween — — — — — wherebetween — —
beyond — — — — — — therebeyond — — — — — wherebeyond — —
by — hereby — — — — thereby — — — — — whereby — —
ever — — — however — — therever — — whatever whenever whencever wherever whitherever whyever
for — herefor — — — — therefor — — — — — wherefor — whyfor
fore — herefore — — — — therefore — — — — — wherefore — —
forth henceforth hereforth — — — thenceforth thereforth — — — — whenceforth whereforth — —
forward henceforward hereforward — — — thenceforward — — — — — whenceforward — — —
forwards henceforwards hereforwards — — — thenceforwards — — — — — — — — —
from hencefrom herefrom — — — thencefrom therefrom — — — — whencefrom wherefrom — —
hence — herehence — — — — therehence — — — — — wherehence — —
inabove — hereinabove — — — — thereinabove — — — — — whereinabove — —
inafter — hereinafter — — — — thereinafter — — — — — whereinafter — —
inbefore — hereinbefore — — — — thereinbefore — — — — — whereinbefore — —
inbelow — hereinbelow — — — — thereinbelow — — — — — whereinbelow — —
inelsewhere — hereinelsewhere — — — — — — — — — — — — —
insoever — hereinsoever — — — — — — thitherinsoever — — — whereinsoever whitherinsoever —
into — hereinto — — — — thereinto — — — — — whereinto — —
inunder — hereinunder — — — — thereinunder — — — — — whereinunder — —
mid2 — heremid — — — — theremid — — — — — wheremid — —
of — hereof — — — — thereof — — — — — whereof — —
on — hereon — — — — thereon — — — — — whereon — —
out — hereout — — — thenceout thereout — — — — — whereout — —
over — hereover — — — — thereover — — — — — whereover — —
so — — — howso — — — — — whatso whenso — whereso whitherso whyso
soever — — — howsoever — — theresoever — — whatsoever whensoever — wheresoever — whysoever
somedever3 — — — howsomedever — — — — — whatsomedever — — — — —
somever3 — — — howsomever — — — — — whatsomever whensomever — wheresomever — —
through — herethrough — — — — therethrough — — — — — wherethrough — —
throughout — herethroughout — — — — therethroughout — — — — — wherethroughout — —
to — hereto hitherto — — — thereto — thitherto — — — whereto whitherto —
tofore — heretofore — — — — theretofore — — — — — wheretofore whithertofore —
unto — hereunto hitherunto — — — thereunto — — — — — whereunto — —
up — — — — — — thereup — — — — — whereup — —
upon — hereupon — — — — thereupon — — — — — whereupon — —
ward — — hitherward — — — — — thitherward — — whenceward — whitherward —
wards — — hitherwards — — — — — thitherwards — — whencewards — whitherwards —
-wise — — — — thatwise — — thiswise — whatwise — — — — —
with — herewith — — — — therewith — — — — — wherewith — —
withal — herewithal — — — — therewithal — — — — — wherewithal — —
within — herewithin — — — — therewithin — — — — — wherewithin — —
without — herewithout — — — — therewithout — — — — — wherewithout — —

1 Scottish
2 from Middle English mid
3 old dialectal form

Anagrams

source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whenever