{
    "term": "ever",
    "partOfSpeech": "adverb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "used in negative sentences and questions, or sentences with if to mean ‘at any time’",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Nothing ever happens here."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Don't you ever get tired?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "If you're ever in Miami, come and see us."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘**Have you ever** been to Rome?’ ‘Yes, I have, actually. Not long ago.’"
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Have you ever thought of changing your job?’ ‘No, never/No I haven’t.’"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She **hardly ever** *(= almost never)* goes out."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We've **only ever** talked on the phone."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I don't think I ever really thanked you properly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He wondered whether it would ever actually happen."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We see them very seldom, **if ever**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'll **never ever** do that again!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm never speaking to you **ever again**!"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "used for emphasis when you are comparing things",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It was raining harder than ever."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Consumers today have more choices than **ever before**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's my **best-ever** score."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's the worst film I've ever seen."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "all the time or every time; always",
            "labels": "(rather formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Paul, ever the optimist, agreed to try again."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She married the prince and they **lived happily ever after**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He said he would love her **for ever (and ever)**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Their debts grew ever larger *(= kept increasing)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the ever-growing problem"
                },
                {
                    "text": "an ever-present danger"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "used after when, why, etc. to show that you are surprised or shocked",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Why ever did you agree?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to emphasize that somebody does the same thing very often, usually in an annoying way",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "All he ever does is grumble about things."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to show that you are surprised or shocked",
            "labels": "(old-fashioned, informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Did you ever hear anything like it?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "continuously since the time mentioned",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He's had a car ever since he was 18."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I was bitten by a dog once and I've been afraid of them ever since."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "very; really",
            "labels": "(informal, especially British English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He looks ever so smart."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She's ever such a nice woman."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's ever so easy."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to emphasize that something is certainly true",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "That was a disaster if ever there was one!"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to emphasize something you are talking about",
            "labels": "(informal, especially North American English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "‘You must have been upset by that.’ ‘Was I ever!’"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "sometimes used at the end of an informal letter, before you write your name",
            "examples": []
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈevə(r)/",
                "audio": "ev/ever/ever__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈevər/",
                "audio": "ev/ever/ever__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English ǣfre, of unknown origin."
}