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forever

adv
/fəˈɹɛvə(ɹ)/UK/fəˈɹɛvɚ/US

Etymology

Univerbation of for ever, from Middle English for ever, for evere. By surface analysis, for + ever. First attested in the late 14c., and first attested in the late 17c. as one word. Noun first attested in 1858.

  1. inherited from for ever

Definitions

  1. For all time, for all eternity

    For all time, for all eternity; for a lifetime; for an infinite amount of time.

    • I shall love you forever.
    • Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.
    • If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — for ever.

  2. For a very long time, a seeming eternity.

    • We had to wait forever to get inside.
    • That was forever ago.
    • She and Serena had been friends forever. Or nearly forever: forty-two years, beginning with Miss Kimmel's first grade.

  3. Constantly or frequently.

    • You are forever nagging me.
    • 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.
  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. An extremely long time.

      • I haven't seen him in forever!
      • It took me forever to make up my mind.
      • Don't spend forever on the phone!

    2. A mythical time in the future that will never come.

      • Sure, I'd be happy to meet with you on the 12th of forever.

    3. Permanent, lasting

      Permanent, lasting; constant, perpetual.

      • It'd be a peaceful life / With a forever wife / And a kid someday
      • We'll take care of you and help you find a Forever Home.
      • He is a forever friend.

    4. Alternative form of forever.

The neighborhood

Derived

best friend forever, diamonds are forever, fivever, forever after, forever alone, forever and a day, forever and ay, forever and ever, forever and forever, forever chemical, forever home, foreverhood, forever house, Forever Knightie, foreverness, forever stamp, liveforever, live-for-ever, live-forever, speak now or forever hold your peace

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at forever. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01forever02eternity03infinitely04infinite05countlessly06numerously07numerous08indefinitely

A definitional loop anchored at forever. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at forever

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA