forever

See also: for ever

English

Alternative forms

• for ever (chiefly British)
• fore'er, for e'er (dialect or poetic, otherwise archaic)
• Forever (noun, poetic)

Etymology

Univerbation of for ever, from Middle English for ever, for evere. By surface analysis, for +‎ ever. First attested in the late 14c., and first attested in the late 17c. as one word. Noun first attested in 1858.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fəˈɹɛvə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fəˈɹɛvɚ/, [fəˈɹɛvɚ], [fɚˈɛvɚ], [fɔɹˈɛvɚ]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)

Adverb

forever (not comparable)

1. (duration) For all time, for all eternity; for a lifetime; for an infinite amount of time.

   I shall love you forever.

   • 1839, Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy, page 95:

     Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.

   • 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four:

     If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face &emdash; for ever.

2. (duration, colloquial, hyperbolic) For a very long time, a seeming eternity.

   We had to wait forever to get inside.

   That was forever ago.

   • 1988, Anne Tyler, chapter 1, in Breathing Lessons:

     She and Serena had been friends forever. Or nearly forever: forty-two years, beginning with Miss Kimmel's first grade.

   • 2024 February 7, Lee Waters tells Conrad Landin, “A mission to improve transport for Wales”, in RAIL, number 1002, page 35:

     Anything in the world of transport takes forever to do, and costs far too much.

3. (frequency) Constantly or frequently.

   You are forever nagging me.

   • 1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 5, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, 1914 June, →OCLC:

     Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch.

Usage notes

• In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the spelling for ever may be used instead of forever for the senses for all time and for a long time. In Canada and the United States, generally only forever is used, regardless of sense.

Derived terms

• best friend forever
• forever after
• forever alone
• forever and a day
• forever and ever
• forever chemical
• forever home
• foreverhood
• forever house
• foreverness
• forever stamp
• live-for-ever
• live-forever
• liveforever
• speak now or forever hold your peace

 

Related terms

• ever
• everlasting
• evermore
• every
• everyday
• never
• nevermore
• whatever
• whenever
• whoever

 

Translations

for all time, for all eternity; for an infinite amount of time

• Amharic: ለዘለዓለም (läzäläʿaläm), ለዘላለም (läzälaläm), ዘለዓለም (zäläʿaläm), ዘለአለም (zäläʾäläm)
• Arabic: إِلَى الْأَبَد (ʔilā l-ʔabad)
• Armenian: ընդմիշտ (hy) (əndmišt), հավետ (hy) (havet)
• Belarusian: назаўжды (nazaŭždy), наве́кі (navjéki), наве́чна (navjéčna)
• Bulgarian: завинаги (bg) (zavinagi)
• Catalan: per sempre, (Balearic) per a sempre
• Cherokee: ᎢᎪᎯᏛ (igohidv), ᎢᎪᎯᏓᏊᎨᏒ (igohidaquugesv)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 永久 (zh) (yǒngjiǔ), 永遠／永远 (zh) (yǒngyuǎn)

• Coptic: ϣⲁ ⲉ̀ⲛⲉϩ (ša èneh)
• Crimean Tatar: ebediyen, ömürlik, bütünley
• Czech: navždy (cs), na věky
• Danish: for altid (da)
• Dutch: eeuwig (nl), (voor) altijd (nl)
• Esperanto: ĉiam (eo)
• Finnish: ikuisesti (fi), ikiajoiksi (fi)
• French: à jamais (fr), pour toujours (fr)
• Georgian: მუდამ (mudam), სამუდამოდ (samudamod), მარად (marad)
• German: für immer (de), ewig (de), unaufhörlich (de), auf immer, für eger
• Greek: για πάντα (el) (gia pánta, literally “for always”), αιώνια (el) (aiónia)

  Ancient: ἀεί (aeí), διὰ παντός (dià pantós)

• Hawaiian: mau loa
• Hebrew: לנצח (lanétsaḥ), לעולם (he) (le'olam)
• Hindi: हमेशा के लिए (hameśā ke lie), कभी के लिए (kabhī ke lie)
• Hungarian: örökre (hu), örökké (hu), mindörökké (hu)
• Icelandic: að eilífu (is)
• Ido: sempre (io), omnatempe (io)
• Irish: go bráth, go deo
• Italian: per sempre
• Japanese: 永久に (ja) (えいきゅうに, eikyū ni), 永遠に (ja) (えいえんに, eien ni)
• Kashubian: na wiedno
• Khmer: រហូត (km) (rahoat)
• Korean: 영원(永遠)히 (ko) (yeong'wonhi)
• Latin: aeternō, in perpetuum, in omne tempus, perpetuum
• Macedonian: засекогаш (zasekogaš)
• Malay: selama-lamanya
• Maltese: għal dejjem
• Manchu: ᡝᠨᡨᡝᡥᡝᠮᡝ (enteheme)
• Marshallese: indeeo
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Navajo: hoolʼáágóó
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: for alltid

  Nynorsk: for alltid

• Old English: on ēcnesse
• Persian: برای همیشه (barâ-ye hamiše)
• Plautdietsch: eewichlich
• Polish: na zawsze (pl), po wsze czasy (pl), na zawżdy
• Portuguese: para sempre (pt)
• Romanian: întotdeauna (ro), pe vecie
• Russian: ве́чно (ru) (véčno), всегда́ (ru) (vsegdá), навсегда́ (ru) (navsegdá), наве́ки (ru) (navéki), наве́чно (ru) (navéčno)
• Sanskrit: सर्वकालम् (sa) (sarvakālam), सर्वदा (sa) (sarvadā), सनातन (sa) (sanātana)
• Scottish Gaelic: gu bràth, gu sìorraidh, a-chaoidh
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: заувијек, заувек

  Roman: zauvijek (sh), zauvek (sh)

• Spanish: para siempre
• Swahili: milele (sw)
• Swedish: för alltid, för evigt
• Tagalog: magpakailanman (tl)
• Thai: ตลอดไป (th) (dtà-lòt-bpai), นิรันดร (th) (ní-ran-dɔɔn)
• Tok Pisin: oltaim
• Turkish: sonsuza kadar, sonsuza dek, daima (tr)
• Ukrainian: наза́вжди (nazávždy), назавжди́ (nazavždý), наві́к (navík), ві́чно (víčno), назавше (nazavše), навічно (navično), навіки (uk) (naviky)
• Urdu: ہمیشہ کے لئے (hameśā ke lie)
• Vietnamese: mãi mãi (vi), vĩnh viễn (vi) (永遠)
• West Frisian: ivich
• Yiddish: אויף אייביק (oyf eybik)
• Yup'ik: akwarpak

(colloquially) for a very long time

• Belarusian: цэлую вечнасць (celuju vječnascʹ)
• Bulgarian: навеки (bg) (naveki)
• Dutch: een eeuwigheid, eeuwen (nl), tijden (nl) pl
• Finnish: ikuisuuden (fi)
• German: ewig (de), für immer (de)
• Polish: całą wieczność
• Russian: це́лую ве́чность (céluju véčnostʹ)
• Swahili: milele (sw)
• Ukrainian: цілу вічність (cilu vičnistʹ)
• West Frisian: ivich

(colloquially) for an excessively long time

• Dutch: eeuwig (nl), eindeloos (nl)
• Finnish: ikuisuuden (fi)
• German: ewig (de), für immer (de)
• Polish: na zawsze (pl)
• Russian: це́лую ве́чность (céluju véčnostʹ)
• Spanish: por siempre
• Swahili: milele (sw)

(colloquially) constantly or frequently

• Dutch: steed, altijd (nl)
• Finnish: aina (fi)
• German: ewig (de), ständig (de), unaufhörlich (de), andauernd (de)
• Hungarian: örökké (hu)
• Polish: cały czas (pl) m
• Russian: ве́чно (ru) (véčno), постоя́нно (ru) (postojánno)
• Spanish: constantemente, sin cesar
• Swahili: milele (sw)
• Swedish: alltid (sv)
• Ukrainian: вічно (vično)

Noun

forever (countable and uncountable, plural forevers)

1. (countable, colloquial) An extremely long time.

   I haven't seen him in forever!

   It took me forever to make up my mind.

   Don't spend forever on the phone!

   She should've been here five forevers ago!

   • 2001 September, Michael Knisley, “The Braves' last stand”, in Sporting News, volume 225, number 36, page 12:

     It's been a fortnight of forevers since the Braves could count on a late-game comeback.

   • 2007, Ruth O'Callaghan, Where acid has etched:

     In the airport, holiday lovers kiss, mouth forevers, the usual argot betrays you. Desire makes love dull.

2. (uncountable, colloquial or poetic) A mythical time in the future that will never come.

   Sure, I'd be happy to meet with you on the 12th of forever.

Translations

extremely long time

• Finnish: ikuisuus (fi)

mythical time in the infinite future

• Finnish: iäisyys (fi)
• Spanish: eternidad (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} éternellement (fr), ^{(please verify)} toujours (fr)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} לעד (la'ad), ^{(please verify)} לנצח (laneitzach)
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} ずっと (ja) (zutto); ^{(please verify)} 永遠 (ja) (eien)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 영원히 (ko) (yeong'wonhi)
• Nauruan: ^{(please verify)} eko dokin
• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} gu bràth, ^{(please verify)} gu sìorraidh, ^{(please verify)} gu suthain, ^{(please verify)} gu suthain sìorraidh, ^{(please verify)} a-chaoidh
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} por siempre, ^{(please verify)} para siempre
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} för alltid (sv), ^{(please verify)} för evigt (sv)

Adjective

forever (not comparable)

1. (chiefly informal) Permanent, lasting; constant, perpetual.
   • 1971, Bruce Johnston, "Disney Girls (1957)":

     It'd be a peaceful life / With a forever wife / And a kid someday

   • 2009, Kathy Kadilak, Tommy Finds His Forever Home, page 3:

     We'll take care of you and help you find a Forever Home.

   • 2012, Brad Hicks, For Every Fear a Promise, page 96:

     He is a forever friend.

   • 2016, Mark Danner, Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War:

     Danner posits that the United States has been trapped in a "forever war" by 9/11, and describes a nation that has been altered in fundamental ways by President Bush's having declared a war of choice and without an exit plan, […]