different between whosoever vs whatever

English

Etymology

who +? soever

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /hu?s????v?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /hu?so???v?/

• Rhymes: -?v?(r)

Pronoun

whosoever (objective whomsoever, possessive whosesoever)

1. whichever person; whoever
   • 1597 – William Shakespeare, Richard II v 3

     If thou do pardon, whosoever pray,
     More sins for this forgiveness prosper may.

   • 1611 – King James Version of the Bible, Luke 6:47

     "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like"

   • 18?? – Thomas Carlyle, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History

     This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it.

   • 1982 – Michael Jackson, Thriller

     Whosoever shall be found without the soul for getting down, must stand and face the hounds of hell

Usage notes

• See who and whom.

Translations

Related terms

• who
• whoever
• whomsoever

Anagrams

• howsoever

English

Etymology

what +? -ever

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??t??v?/, /w?t??v?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /w?t??v?/, /w????v?/
• Rhymes: -?v?(r)

Unusually, the /t/ in whatever may be flapped in certain dialects, despite preceding a stressed syllable.

Determiner

whatever

1. no matter what; for any

2. (relative) Anything that.

Derived terms

• whateverism
• whateverness
• whatsoever

Related terms

• whatever creams your twinkie
• whatever floats your boat
• whatever it takes

Translations

Pronoun

whatever

1. No matter what; for any

2. (relative) Anything; sometimes used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.

Translations

Interjection

whatever

2. (colloquial, dismissive) A holophrastic expression used discourteously to indicate that the speaker does not consider the matter worthy of further discussion.

Usage notes

• Tone of voice is particularly important here in playing up or playing down the dismissive quality of the word.

Synonyms

• so what
• whoopee do
• meh
• whatev

Translations

Adjective

whatever (comparative more whatever, superlative most whatever)

1. (colloquial) Unexceptional or unimportant; blah.
2. (dated, postpositive) At all, absolutely, whatsoever.
   • 1864, Charles Piazzi Smyth, Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid (page 207)

     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.

Noun

whatever (plural whatevers)

1. (colloquial) Something whose exact kind or nature is unimportant; a thingy.
   • 2003, David Soubly, Santa, CEO (page 91)

     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?

Related terms

References

• whatever at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• everwhat