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Therefore vs Wherefore - What's the difference?

therefore | wherefore |

Wherefore is a synonym of therefore.



As adverbs the difference between therefore and wherefore

is that therefore is for that or this purpose, referring to something previously stated while wherefore is why, for what reason, because of what.

As a conjunction wherefore is

because of which.

As a noun wherefore is

an intent or purpose; a why.

therefore

English

Adverb

(-)
  • (conjunctive) For that or this purpose, referring to something previously stated.
  • *
    • I have married a wife, and therefore I can not come.
  • *
    • Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore ?
  • (conjunctive) Consequently, by or in consequence of that or this cause; referring to something previously stated.
  • * , title=(Discourse on the Method)
    • , passage=Je pense, donc je suis (I think, therefore I am)}}
  • *
    • , 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-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.}}
  • * (rfdate), Spectator
    • He blushes; therefore he is guilty.

    Synonyms

    * (for that purpose) so, thus, to that end, to this end * (consequently) hence, then, thus, accordingly, as a result, (math)

    Derived terms

    *

    See also

    *

    Statistics

    * English conjunctive adverbs English pronominal adverbs 1000 English basic words

    wherefore

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (conjunctive, archaic) Why, for what reason, because of what.
  • * 1920 , (Herman Cyril McNeile), Bulldog Drummond Chapter 1
    • "Good morning, Mrs. Denny," he said. "Wherefore this worried look on your face? Has that reprobate James been misbehaving himself?"
  • * "Job", Holy Bible King James Version, 21:7:
    • Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
  • * 1595 ,
    • Romeo, O Romeo. Wherefore art thou, Romeo?
  • * 1595 ,
    • Every why hath a wherefore .
  • (conjunctive, archaic, or, formal) Therefore.

    • Usage notes

    * A common misconception is that wherefore means where''; it has even been used in that sense in cartoon depictions of Romeo and Juliet, often played for comedic effect. In ''Romeo and Juliet'', the meaning of “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” () is not “''Where'' are you, Romeo?” but “''Why are you Romeo?” (i.e. “Why did you have to be a Montague?”).

    See also

    *

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • (archaic) Because of which.
  • :* Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
    Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.     (Isaiah 30:12-13)
  • :* {{quote-book
    • , year=1914 , year_published=2009 , edition=HTML , editor= , author=Edgar Rice Burroughs , title=The Mucker , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=The Gutenberg Project , isbn= , page= , passage=Wherefore it was that by the time the authorities awoke to the fact that something had happened Billy Byrne was fifty miles west of Joliet, bowling along aboard a fast Santa Fe freight. }}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An intent or purpose; a why.
  • *

    • Derived terms

    * whys and wherefores

    References

    English conjunctive adverbs English pronominal adverbs