whoever

whoever
who|ev|er [ hu`evər ] pronoun **
Whoever can be used in the following ways:
as a relative pronoun (starting a relative clause that is the subject, object, or complement of another clause):
You can invite whoever you want.
Whoever comes will be welcome.
as a question pronoun:
Whoever can it be?
as a conjunction (connecting two clauses):
Whoever wins the election, it won't make any difference to me.
1. ) someone or anyone who does a particular thing or is in a particular situation:
Whoever gets the job will be responsible for the annual budget of the department.
A free gift will be given to whoever completes the questionnaire.
Whoever had killed Magnus had probably killed Dempster as well.
You may choose whoever you would like to represent you.
2. ) used for saying that it does not matter who is involved in something because the result or the situation will be the same:
Whoever you ask, the answer is always the same.
Whoever's fault the accident might have been, it certainly wasn't mine.
3. ) SPOKEN used for emphasizing who in a question to show that you are surprised or shocked, or that you think something is unlikely:
Such a wonderful person! Whoever would want to kill her?
Whoever heard of a politician admitting he was wrong?
...or whoever SPOKEN
or anyone else:
People always have to blame someone the government, big business, or whoever.
whoever someone is SPOKEN
used for referring to someone when you do not know who they are or what their name is:
Come out of there, whoever you are, she yelled.
No one is safe until they catch this man, whoever he is.

Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • whoever — whoever, who ever, whomever 1. The same distinction applies here as to whatever and what ever, whoever being written as one word when it is an indefinite relative pronoun equivalent to ‘whatever person’ used in statements or commands (Whoever… …   Modern English usage

  • Whoever — Who*ev er, pron. Whatever person; any person who; be or she who; any one who; as, he shall be punished, whoever he may be. Whoever envies or repines. Milton. Whoever the king favors. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whoever — [ho͞o ev′ər] pron. 1. any person that; whatever person [whoever wins gets a prize] 2. no matter what person [whoever said it, it s not so] 3. what person? who?: an emphatic interrogative [whoever told you that?] …   English World dictionary

  • whoever — noun any individual, any person, anybody, anyone, no matter who, whomever, whomsoever, whosoever Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • whoever — late O.E. hwa efre …   Etymology dictionary

  • whoever — ► PRONOUN 1) the person or people who; any person who. 2) regardless of who. 3) used for emphasis instead of ‘who’ in questions …   English terms dictionary

  • whoever */*/ — UK [huːˈevə(r)] / US [huˈevər] pronoun Summary: Whoever can be used in the following ways: as a relative pronoun (starting a relative clause that is the subject, object, or complement of another clause): You can invite whoever you want. ♦ Whoever …   English dictionary

  • whoever — [[t]huːe̱və(r)[/t]] 1) CONJ SUBORD You use whoever to refer to someone when their identity is not yet known. Whoever did this will sooner or later be caught and will be punished... Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job getting… …   English dictionary

  • whoever — who|ev|er S2 [hu:ˈevə US ˈevər] pron 1.) used to say that it does not matter who does something, is in a particular place etc ▪ I ll take whoever wants to go. ▪ When you re done with the book, just give it to Kristin or Shelley or whoever. 2.)… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • whoever — /hooh ev euhr/, pron.; possessive whosever; objective whomever. 1. whatever person; anyone that: Whoever did it should be proud. Ask whoever is there. Tell it to whomever you like. 2. no matter who: I won t do it, whoever asks. 3. who? what… …   Universalium

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