Etymology : Middle English verray, verry, from Old French verai, from Vulgar Latin veracus, alteration of Latin verac-, verax truthful, from verus true; akin to Old English w[AE]r true, Old High German wAra trust, care, Greek Era favor
Pronunciation : 'ver-E
Function : adjective
Date : 13th century
1. particular, specific; absolute, complete; simple, mere; genuine; actual. adextremely, in an emphasized manner. very\ver"y\ , adv. in a high degree; to no small extent; exceedingly; excessively; extremely; as, a very great mountain; a very bright sum; a very cold day; the river flows very rapidly; he was very much hurt.very \ver"y\ , a. [compar. verier ; superl. veriest.] [oe. verai, verray, of. verai, vrai, f. vrai, (assumed) ll. veracus, for l. verax true, veracious, fr. verus true; akin to ohg. & os. wār, g. wahr, d. waar; perhaps originally, that is or exists, and akin to e. was. cf. aver, v. t., veracious, verdict, verity.] true; real; actual; veritable. whether thou be my very son esau or not. xxvii.
2. he that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. xvii.
3. the very essence of truth is plainness and brightness. i looked on the consideration of public service or public ornament to be real and very justice.note: very is sometimes used to make the word with which it is connected emphatic, and may then be paraphrased by same, self-same, itself, and the like. "the very hand, the very words." "the very rats instinctively have quit it." "yea, there where very desolation dwells." very is used occasionally in the comparative degree, and more frequently in the superlative. "was not my lord the verier wag of the two?" "the veriest hermit in the nation." "he had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood."very reverend. see:
the note under reverend.very 's \ver"y's\, or very \ver"y\, night signals \night signals\ ] . [after lieut. samuel w. very, who invented the system in 1877.] (naut.) a system of signaling in which balls of red and green fire are fired from a pistol, the arrangement in groups denoting numbers having a code significance.very adj.
4. precisely as stated; "the very center of town" [syn: very(a) ].
5. being the exact same one; not any other:; "this is the identical room we stayed in before"; "the themes of his stories are one and the same"; "saw the selfsame quotation in two newspapers"; "on this very spot"; "the very thing he said yesterday"; "the very man i want to see" [syn: identical, one and the same(p) , selfsame(a) , very(a) ].
6. used to give emphasis to the relevance of the thing modified; "his very name struck terror"; "caught in the very act" [syn: very(a) ].
7. used to give emphasis; "the very essence of artistic expression is invention"- irving r. kaufman; "the very back of the room" [syn: very(a) ] adv 1: intensifiers; "she was very gifted"; "he played very well"; "a really enjoyable evening"; (`real' is sometimes used informally for `really' as in "i'm real sorry about it"; `rattling' is informal as in "a rattling good yarn") [syn: really, real, rattling] 2: precisely so; "on the very next page"; "he expected the very opposite".
8. True; real; actual; veritable.
9. In a high degree; to no small extent; exceedingly; excessively; extremely; as, a very great mountain; a very bright sum; a very cold day; the river flows very rapidly; he was very much hurt.
10. A system of signaling in which balls of red and green fire are fired from a pistol, the arrangement in groups denoting numbers having a code significance. used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal; "she was very gifted"; "he played very well"; "a really enjoyable evening"; "I'm real sorry about it"; "a rattling good yarn" precisely so; "on the very next page"; "he expected the very opposite".
11. 1. emphasis Very is used to give emphasis to an adjective or adverb. The problem and the answer are very simple It is very, very strong evidence indeed I'm very sorry They are getting the hang of it very quickly Thank you very much The men were very much like my father.
12. Not very is used with an adjective or adverb to say that something is not at all true, or that it is true only to a small degree. She's not very impressed with them It's obviously not used very much `How well do you know her?' --- `Not very.'.
13. emphasis You use very to give emphasis to a superlative adjective or adverb. For example, if you say that something is the very best, you are emphasizing that it is the best. They will be helped by the very latest in navigation aids At the very least, the Government must offer some protection to mothers who fear domestic violence.
14. emphasis You use very with certain nouns in order to specify an extreme position or extreme point in time. At the very back of the yard, several feet from Lenny, was a wooden shack I turned to the very end of the book, to read the final words He was wrong from the very beginning We still do not have enough women at the very top.
15. emphasis You use very with nouns to emphasize that something is exactly the right one or exactly the same one. Everybody says he is the very man for the case She died in this very house.
16. emphasis You use very with nouns to emphasize the importance or seriousness of what you are saying. At one stage his very life was in danger The very basis of Indian politics has been transformed History is taking place before your very eyes.
17. emphasis The expression very much so is an emphatic way of answering `yes' to something or saying that it is true or correct. `Are you enjoying your holiday?' --- `Very much so.'.
18. formulae Very well is used to say that you agree to do something or you accept someone's answer, even though you might not be completely satisfied with it. `We need proof, sir.' Another pause. Then, `Very well.' Very well, please yourself. = all right.
19. If you say that you cannot very well do something, you mean that it would not be right or possible to do it. He couldn't very well go to her office and force her to write a check I said yes. I can't very well say no. W1S2 used to emphasize that you are talking exactly about one particular thing or person.