forever

English

Alternative forms

• for ever

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /fəɹˈɛvə/, SAMPA: /f@r"Ev@/
• (GenAm) IPA: /fəɹˈɛvɚ/, SAMPA: /f@r"Ev@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvə(r)

Adverb

forever (not comparable)

1. (duration) for all time, for all eternity; for an infinite amount of time.

   I shall love you forever.

2. (duration, colloquial) for a very long time, 'an' eternity.

   We had to wait forever to get inside.

3. (duration, colloquial) for an excessively long time.

   It took her forever to get dressed and ready for the party.

   The drive to his mothers' house took forever.

4. at all times, anytime, always

   You'll have a home here forever, my son!

5. (frequency) constantly or frequently.

   You are forever nagging me.

   • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5

     Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch.

Usage notes

• In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, for ever is the standard spelling for the infinite sense, whilst for ever and forever are both standard for senses 'a long time'. In Canada and the United States, generally only forever is used, regardless of sense.

Synonyms

• evermore
• forevermore
• for ever more
• incessantly
• continually
• eternally
• always
• until Kingdom come

Derived terms

• foreverness

Related terms

• everlasting
• every
• everyday
• never
• nevermore
• whatever
• whenever
• whoever

Translations

for all time, for all eternity; for an infinite amount of time

Arabic: إلى الأبد (ar) ('ílaa al-'ábad) Armenian: ընդմիշտ (hy) (ëndmišt) Cherokee: ᎢᎪᎯᏛ (chr) (i-go-hi-dv), ᎢᎪᎯᏓᏊᎨᏒ (chr) (igohidaquugesv) Chinese: Mandarin: 永久 (zh) (yǒngjiǔ), 永遠 (zh), 永远 (zh) (yǒngyuǎn) Czech: navždy (cs) Dutch: eeuwig, (voor) altijd Finnish: ikuisesti (fi), ikiajoiksi (fi) French: à jamais (fr) German: für immer (de), ewig (de), unaufhörlich (de), auf (de) immer (de), für eger (de) Hawaiian: mau loa Hindi: हमेशा के लिए (hi) (hameśā ke li'e), कभी के लिए (hi) (kabhī ke li'e) Hungarian: örökre (hu), örökké (hu), mindörökké (hu) Irish: go bráth (ga), go deo (ga) Italian: per sempre (it) Japanese: 永久に (ja) (えいきゅうに, eikyū-ni), 永遠に (ja) (えいえんに, eien-ni) Khmer: រហូត (km) (rahoat)

Korean: 영원히 (ko) (yeongwon-hi) (永遠 (ko) + 히 (ko)) Latin: in perpetuum (la), in omne tempus (la), perpetuum (la) Navajo: hoolʼáágóó Persian: برای همیشه (fa) (barâ-ye hamiše) Polish: na zawsze (pl) Portuguese: para sempre (pt) Russian: вечно (ru) (véčno), всегда (ru) (vsegdá), навсегда (ru) (navsegdá), навеки (ru) (navéki) Scottish Gaelic: gu bràth (gd) Spanish: para siempre (es) Swahili: milele (sw) Thai: ตลอดไป (th) (dtà-lòt-bpai), นิรันดร์  (th) (ní-ran) Turkish: sonsuza kadar (tr), sonsuza dek (tr) Ukrainian: назавжди (uk) (nazávždy, nazavždý), навік (uk) (navík), вічно (uk) (víčno) Urdu: ہمیشہ کے لئے (ur) (hameśā ke li'e) Vietnamese: mãi mãi (vi), vĩnh viễn (vi) (永遠 (vi)) West Frisian: ivich (fy)

(colloquially) for a very long time

Dutch: een eeuwigheid, eeuwen, tijden pl. Finnish: ikuisuuden (fi), ikiajoiksi (fi) German: ewig (de), für immer (de)

Russian: целую вечность (ru) (céluju véčnost') Swahili: milele (sw) West Frisian: ivich (fy)

(colloquially) for an excessively long time

Dutch: eeuwig (nl), eindeloos (nl) Finnish: ikuisuuden (fi) German: ewig (de), für immer (de)

Russian: целую вечность (ru) (céluju véčnost') Spanish: por siempre (es) Swahili: milele (sw)

at all times, anytime, allways

Dutch: steeds (nl), altijd (nl) French: toujours (fr)

Latin: semper (la) Spanish: para siempre (es), siempre (es)

(colloquially) constantly or frequently

Dutch: steed (nl), altijd (nl) Finnish: aina (fi) German: ewig (de), ständig (de), unaufhörlich (de), andauernd (de) Hungarian: örökké (hu)

Polish: cały czas (pl) m. Russian: вечно (ru) (véčno), постоянно (ru) (postojánno) Spanish: constantemente (es), sin cesar (es) Swahili: milele (sw)

Noun

forever (plural forevers)

1. An extremely long time.

   It takes forever to walk to work.

   • 2001,, Michael Knisley, “The Braves' last stand”, Sporting News, volume 225, number 36, page 12: 

     It's been a fortnight of forevers since the Braves could count on a late-game comeback.

2. (colloquial) a mythical time in the infinite future that will never come.

   Sure, I'd be happy to meet with you on the 12th of forever.

Translations

(colloquially) a mythical time in the infinite future that will never come

Spanish: eternidad (es)

Swahili: milele (sw)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: éternellement, toujours Hebrew: לעד (he) (la'ad), לנצח (he) (laneitzach) Japanese: ずっと (zutto); 永遠 (eien) Korean: 영원히 /jɜŋwənhiː/

Nauruan: eko dokin Scottish Gaelic: gu bràth, gu sìorraidh, gu suthain, gu suthain sìorraidh, a-chaoidh Spanish: por siempre, para siempre Swedish: (för) alltid, (för) evigt