very

ver|y [ `veri ] function word ***

Very can be used in the following ways:

as an adverb (before adjectives and adverbs):

It had been a long day and he was very tired.

I always walk very quickly.

She writes very well.

as an adjective (only before a noun):

They went down to the very bottom of the ocean.

The car exploded before my very eyes.

1. ) used for emphasizing that a quality exists or is true to a great degree:

It was a very good movie.

The building looks very old.

I think he's very handsome, don't you?

That's very kind of you, Susan.

I took my music lessons very seriously.

The whole team has been playing very well lately.

very many/much (=a lot): I don't think she has very many friends.

Thank you very much.

very few/little (=a small number/amount): Very few people came to the wedding.

a ) used for emphasizing that something is the best, worst, biggest, smallest, first, last, etc.:

They were badly fed, badly clothed, and lived in the very worst conditions.

The Web site has the very latest music news.

We want to make sure that we choose the very best design.

At the very least, Higgins should have to pay a fine for what he's done.

2. ) used for emphasizing that someone or something is the best or most appropriate:

You might be the very person we are looking for for this job.

How did you know this was the very thing I wanted?

a ) used for emphasizing that someone or something is exactly the one you are mentioning and not another one:

The very attributes that some people have criticized are the ones that make him most successful.

this very moment/minute/instant (=now): He's probably lying on some beach in Italy at this very moment.

b ) used for emphasizing an extreme place or time, for example at the top or end of something:

Can you see that little bird right up at the very top of the tree?

Nick was sitting in the very back of the bus.

We worked till the very end of the day.

She smoked her cigarette down to the very end, then stubbed it out.

c ) used for emphasizing how important or serious something is:

Charles realized that his throne and his very life were in danger, and he decided to act.

The chemicals had poisoned his land and destroyed the very basis of his livelihood.

d ) FORMAL used for emphasizing that something that seems simple or basic can still have an important effect:

Quite often the very act of measuring something changes what you are trying to measure.

the very thought of: Sometimes the very thought of the world outside these walls makes me nervous.

be all very well

used for saying that you do not really approve of something or that it is not enough:

Browsing the Web is all very well, but it's a rather solitary experience.

It is all very well to apologize for losing $2 million, but that doesn't make everything all right.

cannot very well do something MAINLY SPOKEN

used for saying that it is difficult, wrong, or stupid for someone to do something:

We have to help her we can't very well just leave her stranded out here in the middle of nowhere.

He couldn't very well refuse the offer.

not very

used before adjectives and adverbs for saying that something is only slightly true or that it is not true at all:

Victor's suggestions were not very helpful.

The next four years were not very happy ones.

The house is not very large, but extremely comfortable.

In the end she greeted me, but not very politely.

Peggy's not very good at singing, is she (=a polite way of saying she is bad at it)?

very good SPOKEN OLD-FASHIONED

used for agreeing to do what someone in authority tells you to do

the very idea MAINLY BRITISH SPOKEN

used for emphasizing that you are shocked about something or it should not be done:

You can't stay out until one in the morning the very idea!

very much so SPOKEN

used for emphasizing your agreement with what someone has said:

Does it bother you that there are no other women working in your office? Very much so.

someone's very own

used for emphasizing that something belongs to someone and not to anyone else:

Well, you finally have your very own car.

of someone's very own: I've dreamed of buying a little house of my very own.

very well SPOKEN

used for saying that you agree with or accept what someone says, even when you might not really agree with them:

Very well, you can put my name on the list, if you really have to.