Meaning & use
nevermore
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UK/ˌnevəˈmɔː/
US/ˌnevɚˈmɔːr/
Meaning
adverbnot comparableliteraryarchaic
At no time in the future; never again.
Grammar: Goes after the verb or at the end: it will return nevermore.
Patterns
- nevermore to do something
The old sailor vowed to sail nevermore.
The poem ends with the raven's cry of nevermore.
She whispered that joy would come nevermore.
Common combinations
- quoth the raven, nevermore
- The students recited Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.
- lost nevermore
- The treasure was lost nevermore.
- see nevermore
- They would see their home nevermore.
- return nevermore
- The ship returned nevermore.
Synonyms and how they differ
- never again
- Never again is the modern everyday way of saying it.
- no more
- No more is simple and plain, lacking the poetic ring of nevermore.
- evermore
- Evermore means forever, so it points to continuing, not to the end of something.
- forevermore
- Forevermore stresses lasting forever, while nevermore stresses it will not happen again.
Opposites
Word family
- never adverb
- at no time
- evermore adverb
- forever
- nevertheless adverb
- despite that
- nonetheless adverb
- in spite of that
Commonly confused: nevermore or evermore?
nevermore vs evermore
Evermore means always from now on, while nevermore means not ever again, so they point in opposite directions.
Practice
What does nevermore mean in an old poem?
Choose one answer.
Nevermore means never again. Always and once more are the opposite in meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nevermore”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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