whenever

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wəˈnɛvə/, /wɛnˈɛvə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /wəˈnɛvɚ/, /hwəˈnɛvɚ/, /wɛnˈɛvɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)

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.

whenever

1. (interrogative) When ever: emphatic form of when.

   Whenever will I find time to finish that jigsaw?

2. At any time.

   Feel free to visit whenever.

• everwhen