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Otherwise vs Whatever - What's the difference?

otherwise | whatever |

As adjectives the difference between otherwise and whatever

is that otherwise is other than supposed; different while whatever is unexceptional or unimportant; blah.

As an adverb otherwise

is differently, in another way.

As a determiner whatever is

no matter which; for any.

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 a pronoun whatever is

anything; used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.

otherwise

English

Alternative forms

* otherwize

Adverb

(-)
  • (lb) Differently, in another way.
  • :
  • *2011 , Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England
  • *:Fabio Capello insisted Rooney was in the right frame of mind to play in stormy Podgorica despite his father's arrest on Thursday in a probe into alleged betting irregularities, but his flash of temper - when he kicked out at Miodrag Dzudovic - suggested otherwise .
  • (lb)  In different circumstances; or else.
  • :
  • *
  • *:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April, author=
  • , volume=100, issue=2, page=171, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Well-connected Brains , passage=Creating a complete map of the human connectome would therefore be a monumental milestone but not the end of the journey to understanding how our brains work. The achievement will transform neuroscience and serve as the starting point for asking questions we could not otherwise have answered,
  • (lb) In all other respects.
  • :
  • *2013 , Phil McNulty, ''BBC Sport , 1 September:
  • *:Robin van Persie squandered United's best chance late on but otherwise it was a relatively comfortable afternoon for Liverpool's new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has yet to concede a Premier League goal since his £9m summer move from Sunderland.
  • Usage notes

    * "Otherwise" is often used to refer to the negative of something. The something may be a noun phrase, a verb phrase, an adjective phrase, or an adverb phrase, or a clause, or even something larger.

    Synonyms

    * (differently) contrarily, contrastingly * (in different circumstances) if not, else (See or else) * (in all other respects) apart from that

    Antonyms

    * likewise

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Other than supposed; different.
  • He said he didn’t do it, but the evidence was otherwise .

    whatever

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (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.
  • Determiner

    (en determiner)
  • No matter which; for any
  • (relative) Anything that.
  • * 1734 , (Alexander Pope), (An Essay on Man)
  • 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.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author=(Henry Petroski)
  • , magazine=(American Scientist), title= 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 * whateverness

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (colloquial, dismissive) A holophrastic expression used discourteously to indicate that the speaker does not consider the matter worthy of further discussion.
  • 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 * meh

    Pronoun

    (English Pronouns)
  • Anything; used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.
  • I'll do whatever I can.
    Do you want Chinese or Mexican for lunch today? — Whatever .

    Statistics

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    Anagrams

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