however

(hou-ĕv'ər)
adv.

1. In whatever manner or way: However he did it, it was very clever.
2. To whatever degree or extent: "have begun, however reluctantly, to acknowledge the legitimacy of some of the concerns" (Christopher Lasch).
3. In what way. Used as an intensive of how: However did you get here so soon?
4. In spite of that; nevertheless; yet: The book is expensive; however, it's worth it.
5. On the other hand; by contrast: The first part was easy; the second, however, took hours.

conj.

1. In whatever manner or way: Dress however you like.
2. Archaic. Notwithstanding that; although.

USAGE NOTE   Although some grammarians have insisted that however should not be used to begin a sentence, this rule has been ignored by a number of reputable writers. Forty-two percent of Usage Panelists say they do not follow the rule in their own writing, 19 percent say they observe it only sometimes, and 36 percent say they usually observe it. See Usage Notes at but, whatever.

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1. When ever is being used as an intensive after the interrogative adverb how, as in How ever did you do it?, the two words should always be written separately.

2. However, in the meaning 'nevertheless', has many possible positions in a clause. If it is put at the beginning, it should be followed by a comma:

I should be angry if the situation were not so farcical. However, I had a certain delight in some of the talk—William Golding, 1980.

This use should be distinguished from however used at the beginning of a sentence as an ordinary adverb meaning 'no matter how', which is not followed by a comma:

However confident he may be that he has outgeneralled a woman, a man likes to have reassurance on the point from a knowledgeable third party—P. G. Wodehouse, 1973.

In mid-sentence, however is preceded and followed by commas. The choice of position depends on the word being emphasized, which is normally the one that comes immediately before however:

Even with the stimulatory measures, however, the deficit does not seem likely to be excessive in the years to come—Times, 1981

That, however, is not the point of this essay—weblog, British English 2005 [Old English (up to 1150)C].

It is preceded by a comma when it occurs at the end of a sentence:

The presence of a girl in a group of tipsy young men keeps them in check, however—Lancashire Life, 1978

None of this is quite as complicated as it sounds, however—computing website, American English 2005.

3. There are two erroneous uses to guard against: (1) however as a simple substitute for but: ☒ They came for dinner, however they left before ten and (2) a sentence allowed to run on when however should have a capital letter and start a new sentence: ☒ Resources for doing so are not available, however, the matter will be reviewed at a later date.

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adverb

In spite of a preceding event or consideration: all the same, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, yet. Informal still and all. Idioms: be that as it may. See affirm/deny/argue.

IN BRIEF: adv. - Despite anything to the contrary (usually following a concession); In whatever way or manner; To whatever degree or extent; By contrast.

Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until, nightfall. — Robert Louis Stevenson

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For a list of words related to however, see:

• Conjunctions
• Limitations and Conditions

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See words rhyming with "however."

  See crossword solutions for the clue However.

Common misspelling(s) of however

• howver

Dansk (Danish)
adv. - uanset hvordan, uanset hvorledes, hvordan dog
conj. - alligevel, dog, imidlertid

idioms:

• however long    uanset hvor lang
• however many    uanset hvor mange

Nederlands (Dutch)
echter, evenwel, hoe dan ook, hoe in 's hemelsnaam?, op welke wijze dan ook

Français (French)
adv. - cependant, toutefois, pourtant, avoir beau (faire qch), si ... soit-il/soit-elle, quel que soit, comment?
conj. - pourtant, cependant, toutefois, néanmoins

idioms:

• however long    quel que soit le temps
• however many    quel que soit le nombre

Deutsch (German)
adv. - aber, jedoch, egal, wie
conj. - jedoch, aber

idioms:

• however long    egal wie lang
• however many    egal wie wieviele

Ελληνική (Greek)
adv. - ωστόσο, εν τούτοις, μολαταύτα, οπωσδήποτε, οσοδήποτε, με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο, πώς στην ευχή, τέλος πάντων!, έστω!, ας είναι κι έτσι!

idioms:

• however long    όσο κι αν
• however many    όσοι κι αν

Italiano (Italian)
tuttavia, comunque

idioms:

• however long/many    qualsivoglia

Português (Portuguese)
adv. - contudo

idioms:

• however long/many    seja longo/sejam muitos como for

Русский (Russian)
как бы ни, какой бы ни, каким образом, тем не менее

idioms:

• however long/many    как бы долго/много ни

Español (Spanish)
adv. - no obstante, sin embargo, de cualquier modo, como quiera que
conj. - cómo lo desee

idioms:

• however long    por mucho que...
• however many    por más que...

Svenska (Swedish)
adv. - hur...än, hur i all världen

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
然而, 究竟, 无论如何, 不过, 可是

idioms:

• however long    无论多长, 不管多长
• however many    无论多少, 不论多少

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adv. - 然而, 究竟, 無論如何
conj. - 然而, 不過, 可是

idioms:

• however long    無論多長, 不管多長
• however many    無論多少, 不論多少

한국어 (Korean)
adv. - 제아무리~해도, 도대체 어떻게 해서
conj. - 그렇지만, 그러나

日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - どんなに…でも, どんな仕方で…しても
conj. - しかしながら, しかし

idioms:

• however long/many    長さ/多さにかかわらず

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(ظرف) مهما, ومع ذلك, من ناحيه ثانيه, ولكن, كيف, بأيه طريقه أو وسيله‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adv. - ‮אף על פי כן, בכל מידה, בכל אופן, בכל דרך ש-, למרות ש-‬
conj. - ‮כיצד, איך‬

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