whichever

English

Etymology

From Middle English qwichever, whiche ever, whiche evere, which ever, which evere; equivalent to which +‎ ever.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /wɪt͡ʃˈɛvɚ/, /ʍɪt͡ʃˈɛvɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)

Determiner

whichever

1. (interrogative) Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'.

   Good heavens! Whichever button did you press to make that happen?!

2. Regardless of the ... that; no matter which.

   It won't work, whichever buttons you press.

   Whichever book you borrow, be sure to return it to the library on time.

3. Any or either ... that; the ... that.

   Choose whichever card you like.

   Borrow whichever books interest you.

   I'll buy whichever shirt is cheapest.

4. According to or depending upon which.

   I'll buy the red shirt or the blue shirt, whichever one is cheaper.

   If the work is of joint authorship, the copyright expires 50 years after the death of the author who first dies, or upon the death of the author who dies last, whichever period is longer.

Usage notes

• In both determiner and pronoun use, whichever is preferred when the choice is from a closed set or group of things, while whatever is preferred in open-ended cases. For example, "You can do whatever you like" if possible activities are unrestricted, but "You can do whichever you like" if there is a menu of activities.

Synonyms

• whichsoever

Derived terms

• whichever way one slices it

 

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Czech: kterýkoliv (cs) m
• Finnish: mikä tahansa (fi), kumpi tahansa
• French: n’importe quel (fr)
• Hungarian: (no matter which) bármelyik (hu), akármelyik (hu), bármely (hu), (any or either that…) amely (hu), amelyik (hu) (csak (hu))
• Interlingua: qualcunque
• Italian: qualunque (it), qualsiasi (it), qualsivoglia (it)
• Norman: n'împorte tchi qu'
• Romanian: oricare (ro), indiferent care
• Spanish: cualquier (es)
• Swedish: vilken (sv) c, vilket (sv) n
• Turkish: herhangi bir (tr)

Pronoun

whichever

1. (interrogative) Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'.

   These chocolates all look delicious. Whichever shall I choose?

2. Irrespective of the one(s) that; no matter which one(s).

   Whichever you pick, be content with it.

3. Any or either one(s) that; the one(s) that.

   I have a few books; please borrow whichever interest you.

   They have lots of shirts, but I'll buy whichever is cheapest.

   Whichever of you gets here first will get the prize.

4. (informal) Any or either one(s).

   I don't mind which you have. Take whichever.

5. According to or depending upon which one(s).

   I'll buy the red shirt or the blue shirt, whichever is cheaper.

Usage notes

• It may be preferable to use whoever (subject) or whomever (object) when referring to a group of people.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: أَيّ (ar) (ʔayy)
• Finnish: mikä tahansa (fi), kumpi tahansa
• French: n’importe lequel (fr), quel que soit celui qui m, quelle que soit celle qui f
• Greek:

  Ancient: ὅστις (hóstis)

• Hungarian: bármelyik (hu), akármelyik (hu)
• Norman: n'împorte tchi
• Romanian: oricare (ro), indiferent care
• Spanish: cualquiera que, el que sea
• Swedish: vilken (sv) c, vilket (sv) n

Anagrams

• everwhich