Lest vs However - What's the difference?
lest | however |
For fear that; that . . . not; in order that . . . not; in case.
* '>citation
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-27, volume=408, issue=8846, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= That (without the negative particle); – after certain expressions denoting fear or apprehension.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.}}
(lb) Nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, that said, in spite of this.
:
*
*:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however , understood him very well.
*
, chapter=2, title= *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= (lb) To whatever degree.
:
(lb) In whatever way.
:
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
, volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= In what way?; how?
:
In whatever manner (that).
To whatever extent.
(proscribed) Although, though, but, yet.
As conjunctions the difference between lest and however
is that lest is for fear that; that . . . not; in order that . . . not; in case while however is in whatever manner (that).As an adverb however is
nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, that said, in spite of this.lest
English
Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)Lunacy?, passage=Lest any astrologer reading this result get cocky, Dr Cajochen does not believe that what he has found is directly influenced by the Moon through, say, some tidal effect. What he thinks he has discovered is an additional hand on the body’s clock-face.}}
Usage notes
The word lest is always followed by the , usually in either the present or future tense. For example: Lest they be captured, the soldiers fled from the battlefield. The future subjunctive would simply employ the auxiliary word should .Synonyms
* (for fear that) (informal)See also
* judge not lest ye be judged * in case * lest we forgetAnagrams
* * *References
however
English
(POS mixed up)Adverb
(-)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however , by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.}}
A punch in the gut, passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however , has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
The tao of tech, passage=But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained.}}
Usage notes
* (nevertheless) Strunk and White’s (The Elements of Style)'' argues that the adverb ''however , in its sense of nevertheless, should be avoided at the beginning of a sentence.Synonyms
* after all * but * nevertheless * nonetheless * notwithstanding * though * that said * still and allConjunction
(English Conjunctions)- Do it however you want.
- However far he may get, there'll be many that get further.
- However much you prepare for the exam, there will still be a few questions on which you won't be sure of the answer.
Usage notes
*(although) The use of however'' as a conjunction meaning "but" is identical to its use as a clause-initial adverb meaning "nevertheless", except in punctuation (when written) and in prosody (when spoken). Hence, the following proscribed sentence:
(proscribed) ''He told me not to do it, however''' I did it.''
is equivalent to the following accepted one:
(accepted) ''He told me not to do it; '''however , I did it.''
In particular, when used as a conjunction in this sense, ''however always appears between the clauses it connects; it does not introduce a true subordinate clause that can be moved to the start of an independent clause, because a conjunctive adverb cannot do that.
Statistics
*References
* * * * "however (degree)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * "
however (despite)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * "
however (way)" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007) * * Oxford English Dictionary , second edition (1989) * Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary (1987-1996)