different between indefinitely vs forever

English

Etymology

indefinite +? -ly

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?d?f?n?tli/
• Hyphenation: in?def?i?nite?ly

Adverb

indefinitely (not comparable)

1. In a manner that is not definite.

   an indefinitely determined fossil

2. For a long time, with no defined end.
3. Forever.

Translations

See also

• endlessly

English

Alternative forms

• for ever

Etymology

From Middle English for ever, for evere, equivalent to for +? ever.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /f????v?(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /f????v?/, [f????v?], [f???v?], [f????v?]
• Rhymes: -?v?(r)

Adverb

forever (not comparable)

1. (duration) For all time, for all eternity; for a lifetime; for an infinite amount of time.

   I shall love you forever.
2. (duration, colloquial, hyperbolic) For a very long time, a seeming eternity.
   • 1988, Anne Tyler, Breathing Lessons, Chapter 1

     She and Serena had been friends forever. Or nearly forever: forty-two years, beginning with Miss Kimmel's first grade.

   We had to wait forever to get inside.

3. (frequency) Constantly or frequently.

   You are forever nagging me.

   • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5

     Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch.

Usage notes

• In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the spelling for ever may be used instead of forever for the senses "for all time" and "for a long time". In Canada and the United States, generally only forever is used, regardless of sense.

Synonyms

• always
• continually
• eternally
• evermore
• for good
• forevermore
• for ever more
• forever and a day
• incessantly
• until Kingdom come
• permanently

Derived terms

• foreverness
• foreverhood
• forever home

Related terms

• everlasting
• every
• everyday
• never
• nevermore
• whatever
• whenever
• whoever

Translations

Noun

forever (plural forevers)

1. An extremely long time.
   • 2007, Ruth O'Callaghan, "Where acid has etched"

     In the airport, holiday lovers kiss, mouth forevers, the usual argot betrays you. Desire makes love dull.

2. (colloquial) A mythical time in the infinite future that will never come.

Translations

Adjective

forever (not comparable)

1. Permanent, lasting