Whatever vs Any - What's the difference?
whatever | any |
(lb) Unexceptional or unimportant; blah.
*1996 , "Mathias", Lake Placid Comments'' (discussion on Internet newsgroup ''rec.music.phish )
*:All in all, I guess I shouldn't be complaining, but the rest of the show, imho, was very whatever -ish.
*2007 , (Avril Lavigne), , (The Best Damn Thing) ,
*:She's like so whatever / You can do so much better
(lb) At all, absolutely, whatsoever.
:
*
*:Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
No matter which; for any
(relative) Anything that.
* 1734 , (Alexander Pope), (An Essay on Man)
*
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author=(Henry Petroski)
, magazine=(American Scientist), title= (colloquial, dismissive) A holophrastic expression used discourteously to indicate that the speaker does not consider the matter worthy of further discussion.
Anything; used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.
To even the slightest extent, at all.
* 1934 , edition, ISBN 0553278193, page 58:
At least one; of at least one kind. One at all.
:
*Bible, (w) xi. 27
*:No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1
, passage=In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts,
*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=19 No matter what kind.
:
*
*:This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. In complexion fair, and with blue or gray eyes, he was tall as any Viking, as broad in the shoulder.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Any thing(s) or person(s).
As determiners the difference between whatever and any
is that whatever is no matter which; for any while any is at least one; of at least one kind. One at all.As pronouns the difference between whatever and any
is that whatever is anything; used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options while any is any thing(s) or person(s).As an adjective whatever
is unexceptional or unimportant; blah.As an interjection whatever
is a holophrastic expression used discourteously to indicate that the speaker does not consider the matter worthy of further discussion.As an adverb any is
to even the slightest extent, at all.whatever
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Determiner
(en determiner)- And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.
- Whatever utility the work may have outside of its stated boundaries will be largely because of such a nonprovincial approach.
The Evolution of Eyeglasses, passage=The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.}}
Derived terms
* whatever creams your twinkie * whatever floats your boat * whatever it takes * whateverism * whatevernessInterjection
(en interjection)- Parent: For the last time, brush your teeth!
- Child: Whatever !
Usage notes
* Tone of voice is particularly important here in playing up or playing down the dismissive quality of the word.Synonyms
* so what * whoopee do * mehPronoun
(English Pronouns)- I'll do whatever I can.
- Do you want Chinese or Mexican for lunch today? — Whatever .
Statistics
*Anagrams
*any
English
(wikipedia any)Alternative forms
* anie (obsolete)Adverb
(-)- I will not remain here any longer.
- If you get any taller, you'll start having to duck through doorways!
- I wasn't any too easy in my mind.
Determiner
(en determiner)citation, passage=Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.}}
Welcome to the plastisphere, passage=Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.}}
Derived terms
* any and all * any old * any press is good press * any time * anybody * anyhow * anymore * anyone * anyplace * anyroad * anything * anytime * anyway * anywhen * anywhence * anywhere * anywhither * anywho * anywhom * in any case * just anySee also
* somePronoun
(head)- Any may apply.