adverb, adjective
adverb (abbreviation v)
1 used before adjectives, adverbs and DETERMINERS to mean 'in a high degree' or 'extremely':
very small / hot / useful * very quickly / soon / far * Very few people know that. * Thanks very much. * 'Do you like it?' 'Yeah, I do. Very much.' * 'Is it what you expected?' 'Oh yes, very much so.' * 'Are you busy?' 'Not very.' * The new building has been very much admired. * I'm not very (= not at all) impressed.
2 used to emphasize a superlative adjective or before own:
They wanted the very best quality. * Be there by six at the very latest. * At last he had his very own car (= belonging to him and to nobody else).
3 the ~ same exactly the same:
Mario said the very same thing.
adjective [onlybeforenoun]
1 used to emphasize that you are talking about a particular thing or person and not about another
SYNACTUAL:
Those were her very words. * He might be phoning her at this very moment. * That's the very thing I need.
2 extreme:
It happens at the very beginning of the book.
3 used to emphasize a noun
SYNMERE:
The very thought of drink made him feel sick. * 'I can't do that!' she gasped, appalled at the very idea.
IDIOMS see EYEn., IMAGE
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GRAMMARPOINT
very / very much
Very is used with adjectives, past participles used as adjectives, and adverbs: I am very hungry. * I was very pleased to get your letter. * You played very well. But notice: I'm very much afraid that your son may be involved in the crime.
Very is not used with past participles that have a passive meaning. Much, very much or greatly (formal) are usually used instead: Your help was very much appreciated. * He was much loved by everyone. * She was greatly admired.
Very is used to emphasize superlative adjectives: my very best work * the very youngest children. However, with comparative adjectives much, very much, a lot, etc. are used: Your work is very much better. * much younger children.
Very is not used with adjectives and adverbs that already have an extreme meaning. You are more likely to use an adverb such as absolutely, completely, etc.: She was absolutely furious. * I'm completely exhausted. * You played really brilliantly.
Very is not used with verbs. Use very much instead: We enjoyed staying with you very much.
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for very is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Does very appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — very appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
