however

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however

by whatever means; to whatever degree; nevertheless: It had started to rain; however, the ball game continued.

Not to be confused with:

how ever – when “ever” is used for emphasis: How ever did you do that?

how·ev·er

(hou-ĕv′ər)

adv.

1. In spite of that; nevertheless; yet: The book is expensive; however, it's worth it.

2. On the other hand; by contrast: The first part was easy; the second, however, took hours.

3. To whatever degree or extent: "The prospect of success, however remote, was tantalizing" (Stephen Baker).

4. In what way. Used as an intensive of how: However did you get here so soon?

conj.

1. In whatever manner or way that: Dress however you like.

2. Archaic Notwithstanding that; although: "Howe'er thou art a fiend, / a woman's shape doth shield thee" (Shakespeare).

Usage Note: It is sometimes claimed that one should not use however to begin a sentence, but few writers consistently follow this rule. In our 2015 survey, only 10 percent of the Usage Panel reported that they themselves always follow the rule, 30 percent said that they usually or sometimes follow it, and 60 percent said that they rarely or never do so. And consistent with their self-reports, two thirds of the Panel judged a sentence beginning with however to be completely acceptable, and another quarter of them judged it at least somewhat acceptable—in other words, fewer than ten percent of them objected to it. · When however is used to join clauses within a sentence, it acts as a conjunctive adverb like nevertheless, not as a coordinating conjunction like but or yet. The conventions of punctuation thus require that it be preceded by a semicolon, as in Main Street will be closed to traffic for the parade; however, the stores along it will remain open. Using a comma instead of a semicolon is likely to be perceived as a mistake. In our 2015 survey, 86 percent of the Usage Panel gave an unacceptable rating to the sentence Main Street will be closed to traffic for the parade, however, the stores along it will remain open. See Usage Notes at but, whatever.

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.

however

(haʊˈɛvə)

sentence connector

1. still; nevertheless

2. on the other hand; yet

adv

3. by whatever means; in whatever manner

4. (used with adjectives expressing or admitting of quantity or degree) no matter how: however long it takes, finish it.

5. an emphatic form of how¹¹

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

how•ev•er

(haʊˈɛv ər)

adv.

1. nevertheless; yet; on the other hand; in spite of that: We have not yet won; however, we shall keep trying.

2. to whatever extent or degree; no matter how: However much you spend, I will reimburse you.

3. how?; how under the circumstances?: However did you escape?

conj.

4. in whatever way, manner, or state: Arrange your hours however you like.

[1350–1400]

however

You use however when you are adding a comment that contrasts with what has just been said.

Some of the food crops failed. However, the cotton did quite well.

Losing at games doesn't matter to some women. Most men, however, can't stand it.

You also use however to say that it makes no difference how something is done.

You can do it however you want.

However we add that up, it does not make a dozen.

However we prepare for retirement there are undeniably risks.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'however' as a conjunction. For example, don't say 'John always cooks dinner, however I usually wash up afterwards'. You can start a new sentence or clause, for example 'John always cooks dinner. However, I usually wash up afterwards'. Or you can use a conjunction such as but or although, for example 'John always cooks dinner, although I usually wash up afterwards.'

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adv.	1.	however - despite anything to the contrary (usually following a concession); "although I'm a little afraid, however I'd like to try it"; "while we disliked each other, nevertheless we agreed"; "he was a stern yet fair master"; "granted that it is dangerous, all the same I still want to go" all the same, even so, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, withal, still, yet
	2.	however - by contrast; on the other hand; "the first part was easy; the second, however, took hours"
	3.	however - to whatever degree or extent; "The results, however general, are important"; "they have begun, however reluctantly, to acknowledge the legitimacy of some of the opposition's concerns"
	4.	however - in whatever way or manner; "Victory, however it was brought about, was sweet"; "however he did it, it was very clever"

however

adverb

1. but, nevertheless, still, though, yet, even though, on the other hand, nonetheless, notwithstanding, anyhow, be that as it may Some of the food crops failed. However, the cotton did quite well.

2. no matter how, regardless of how, in whatever way However hard she tried, nothing seemed to work.

3. how on earth, how However did you find this place in such weather?

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

however

adverb

In spite of a preceding event or consideration:

all the same, nevertheless, nonetheless, still, yet.

Informal: still and all.

Idiom: be that as it may.

Translations

كيف؟ في أي طريقَه؟ بأي وسيلَه؟كَيفَمامَعْ ذَلِكَمَع ذلك، ولكن، بالرَّغْم مِن ذلكمَهْما يَكُن

nicméněať jakýmkoli způsobemavšakjak vůbecjakkoli

alligevelhvor meget endhvordanhvordan endikke desto mindre

jedochnochallwie wie auch immer dennoch

ωστόσο εντούτοις όμως

sin embargo cómo de cualquier modo de todas formas no obstante

kuitenkin

cependant toutefois pourtant de quelque manière que néanmoins

međutim

akárhogyanbármennyiremindamellett

hvernig í ósköpunumhvernig semsama hvernigsamt

comunque tuttavia in ogni modo nonostante però

いかに･･･であろうとも

그러나

echter daarentegen

imidlertid men samme hvordan hvor ... enn hvordan

jednakże

contudo no entanto entretanto

однако

ako len

kakorkolivendar

hur som helsthur...än

อย่างไรก็ตาม

ancakbuna rağmennasıl ne kadarne kadar ... olsa da/bile

tuy nhiên

可是究竟怎样不管如何不管用什么方法

however

[haʊˈevəʳ]

A. ADV

1. (= nevertheless) → sin embargo, no obstante
most men, however, prefer black → la mayoría de los hombres, sin embargo or no obstante, prefieren el negro

2. (= no matter how)
however cold it is, we still manage to have fun → por mucho frío que haga, nos las arreglamos para pasarlo bien
he'll never catch us however fast he runs → por muy rápido que vaya or por mucho que corra no nos alcanzará
however hard she tried, she couldn't remember his name → por mucho or más que lo intentaba, no lograba acordarse de su nombre
wait 10 to 15 minutes, or however long it takes → espera 10 ó 15 minutos, o los que sean necesarios
the 5,000 spectators, or however many were there → los 5.000 espectadores, o los que fuesen
take about a metre of fabric, or however much you need → toma un metro de tela o lo que necesites

3. (in questions) (= how) → cómo
however did you manage to do that? → ¿cómo te las arreglaste para hacer eso?

B. CONJ however it's done, it has to look right → se haga como se haga, tiene que quedar bien
however we add it up, it doesn't come to 83 → lo sumemos como lo sumemos, no da 83, hagamos la suma como la hagamos, no da 83
however you want or like → como quieras
you can do it however you want → puedes hacerlo como quieras

HOWEVER

Unlike however, sin embargo and no obstante can never end a sentence; they must always go at the beginning of it or between the clauses: He has one problem, however Sin embargo, tiene un problema He does not expect to come out of the meeting with anything concrete, however No obstante, no espera salir de la reunión con nada concreto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

however

[haʊˈɛvə^r]

conj → pourtant, cependant
This, however, isn't true → Pourtant, ce n'est pas vrai.

adv (= in whatever way) → quelle que soit la façon dont, quelle que soit la manière dont
... however you choose to do it → ... quelle que soit la façon dont tu choisis de le faire, ... quelle que soit la manière dont tu choisis de le faire
however you like, however you want → comme tu veux

(= no matter) (+ adjective) → malgré
However hard she tried, nothing seemed to work → Malgré tout ce qu'elle a essayé, rien n'a marché.

(in questions) (= how on earth) → comment

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

however

conj

→ jedoch, aber; however, we finally succeeded → wir haben es schließlich doch noch geschafft

(inf: = oh well) → na ja (inf), → nun ja (inf)

adv

(= no matter how) → wie … auch, egal wie (inf); (= in whatever way) → wie; however strong he is → wie stark er auch ist, egal wie stark er ist (inf); however you do it → wie immer du es machst, wie du es auch machst; do it however you like → machs, wie du willst; buy it however expensive it is → kaufen Sie es, egal, was es kostet; however much you cry → und wenn du noch so weinst, wie sehr du auch weinst; wait 30 minutes or however long it takes → warte eine halbe Stunde oder so lange, wie es dauert; however that may be → wie dem auch sei

(in question) → wie … bloß or nur; however did you manage it? → wie hast du das bloß or nur geschafft?

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

however

[haʊˈɛvəʳ]

1. conj (still, nevertheless) → però, comunque, tuttavia

2. adv however I do it → in qualunque modo lo faccia
however cold it is → per quanto freddo faccia
however much I try → per quanto ci possa provare
however did you do it? (fam) → come diavolo hai fatto?
however that may be → comunque sia

how

(hau) adverb, conjunction

1. in what way. How do you make bread?

2. to what extent. How do you like my new hat?; How far is Paris from London?

3. by what means. I've no idea how he came here.

4. in what condition. How are you today?; How do I look?

5. for what reason. How is it that I am the last to know about this?

howˈever adverb

1. in spite of that. It would be nice if we had more money. However, I suppose we'll manage with what we have.

2. (also how ever) in what way; by what means. However did you get here?; However did you do that?

3. to no matter what extent. However hard I try, I still can't do it.

conjunction

in no matter what way. This painting still looks wrong however you look at it.

how about

1. I would like to suggest. `Where shall we go tonight?' `How about the cinema?'

2. what is he, are you etc going to do?; what does he, do you etc think?. We're going to the cinema tonight. How about you?; I rather like that picture. How about you?

how come

for what reason. How come I didn't get any cake?

how do you do?

words that are said by a person to someone he is being introduced to. `How do you do? My name is Smith,' he said, shaking her hand.

however

→ مَعْ ذَلِكَ avšak ikke desto mindre jedoch ωστόσο sin embargo kuitenkin toutefois međutim tuttavia いかに･･･であろうとも 그러나 echter imidlertid jednakże contudo однако hur...än อย่างไรก็ตาม ancak tuy nhiên 可是

however

adv. sin embargo, no obstante.

References in classic literature ?

In neither case- however we may change our point of view, however plain we may make to ourselves the connection between the man and the external world, however inaccessible it may be to us, however long or short the period of time, however intelligible or incomprehensible the causes of the action may be- can we ever conceive either complete freedom or complete necessity.

(2) However much we approximate the time of judgment to the time of the deed, we never get a conception of freedom in time.

(3) However much the difficulty of understanding the causes may be increased, we never reach a conception of complete freedom, that is, an absence of cause.

View in context

When he entered the forest, however, there suddenly stood before him an old man, who had left his holy cot to seek roots.

If, however, thou wilt give unto them, give them no more than an alms, and let them also beg for it!"

When Zarathustra was alone, however, he said to his heart: "Could it be possible!

View in context

Before daybreak, however, they were up and on their way once more.

This gave the hunter little uneasiness, however, for there was game to be had among the mountains, and he had frequently before had to depend upon his rifle for the needs of life.

He had hardly started, however, before he realized the difficulty which faced him.

View in context

The soil, however, was generally poor; there was in some places a miserable growth of wormwood, and a plant called saltweed, resembling pennyroyal; but the summer had parched the plains, and left but little pasturage.

He proved, however, but an indifferent guide, and they soon became bewildered among rugged hills and unknown streams, and burnt and barren prairies.

He conducted himself peaceably, however, and despatched some of his people to their camp, which was somewhere in the neighborhood, from whence they returned with a most acceptable supply of buffalo meat.