whoever

[ hoo-ev-er ]

pronoun

objective: whomeverpossessive: whosever

1. whatever person; anyone that:

   Whoever did it should be proud. Ask whoever is there. Tell it to whomever you like.

2. no matter who:

   I won't do it, whoever asks.

3. who? what person? (used to express astonishment, disbelief, disdain, etc.):

   Whoever is that? Whoever told you such a thing?

whoever

/ huːˈɛvə /

pronoun

1. any person who; anyone that

   whoever wants it can have it

2. no matter who

   I'll come round tomorrow, whoever may be here

3. an intensive form of who, used in questions

   whoever could have thought that?

4. informal.
   an unknown or unspecified person

   give those to John, or Cathy, or whoever

Word History and Origins

Origin of whoever¹

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; who, ever

Example Sentences

“I just think it’s important to believe and know that someone is going to make a play to win the game, whoever it is. Blowing them out would have been nice, but I think it’s important for our team to pull off one like this.”

From Los Angeles Times

Whoever forms the next German government will have to make some difficult calls.

From BBC

“I am still optimistic,” says economist Dr de la Rubia, who says that the need to upgrade Germany’s infrastructure is now “so obvious” that whoever forms the country’s next government will have to take action.

From BBC

"One of the first things that Trump will do is get rid of the Biden administration's enforcement priorities. And we've seen that when there are no priorities, they will go after whoever are the easiest targets."

From BBC

"Now, the billionaire will be able to bring lawsuits to friendly courts against whoever disagrees with him on his platform," said The Center for Countering Digital Hate told Reuters.

From Salon

Related Words

• someone