what·ev·er (w?t-?v??r, w?t-, hw?t-, hw?t-)pron.1. Everything or anything that: Do whatever you please.2. What amount that; the whole of what: Whatever is left over is yours.3. No matter what: Whatever happens, we’ll meet here tonight.4. Which thing or things; what: Whatever does he mean?5. Informal What remains and need not be mentioned; what have you: Please bring something to the party?pretzels, crackers, whatever.adj.1. Of any number or kind; any: Whatever requests you make will be granted.2. All of; the whole of: She applied whatever strength she had left to the task.3. Of any kind at all: No campers whatever may use the lake before noon.interj. Informal Used to indicate indifference to or scorn for something, such as a remark or suggestion: We’re having pizza tonight.?Whatever. I don’t care.Usage Note: Both whatever and what ever may be used in sentences such as Whatever (or What ever) made her say that? Critics have occasionally objected to the one-word form, but many respected writers have used it. The same is true of the forms whoever, whenever, wherever, and however. In adjectival uses, however, only the one-word form is used: Take whatever (not what ever) books you need. · When a clause beginning with whatever is the subject of a sentence, no comma should be used: Whatever you do is right. In most other cases, a comma is needed: Whatever you do, don’t burn the toast. · When a noun followed by a restrictive clause is preceded by whichever or whatever, it is regarded as incorrect to introduce the clause with that in formal writing: whatever book that you want to look at; one should write instead Whatever book you want to look at will be sent to your office or Whichever book costs less (not that costs less) is fine with us. See Usage Notes at however, that.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.whatever (w?t??v?; w?t-) pron1. everything or anything that: do whatever he asks you to. 2. no matter what: whatever he does, he is forgiven. 3. informal an unknown or unspecified thing or things: take a hammer, chisel, or whatever. 4. an intensive form of what, used in questions: whatever can he have said to upset her so much?. determineran intensive form of what: use whatever tools you can get hold of. adj (postpositive) absolutely; whatsoever: I saw no point whatever in continuing. interjinformal an expression used to show indifference or dismissalCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014what?ev?er (?w?t??v ?r, ?w?t-, ?w?t-, w?t-, w?t-, w?t-) pron. 1. anything that (usu. used in relative clauses): Do whatever you like. 2. (used relatively to indicate a quantity of a specified or implied antecedent): Take whatever you like of these. 3. no matter what: Do it, whatever happens. 4. any or any one of a number of things whether specifically known or not: papers, magazines, or whatever. 5. what (used interrogatively): Whatever do you mean? adj. 6. in any amount; to any extent: whatever merit the work has. 7. no matter what: whatever rebuffs you might receive. 8. being what or who it may be: Whatever the reason, she refuses to go. 9. of any kind (used as an intensifier following the noun or pronoun it modifies): any person whatever. interj. 10. (used to indicate indifference to a state of affairs, situation, previous statement, etc.) [1300?50] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.whateverWhatever can be a pronoun, a determiner, or an adverb.You use whatever as a pronoun or determiner to refer to anything or everything of a particular kind.You can also use whatever to say that something is true in all possible circumstances.You use whatever after nothing or after a noun phrase beginning with no to emphasize that there is nothing of a particular kind.Whatever is sometimes used in questions to express surprise.However, many people consider this form to be incorrect, and it is better to write what ever as two separate words.In informal conversation, people sometimes use whatever as a response, to show that they do not care or have no opinion about something. This use can sound rude.