VERY
very
(adjective) precisely as stated; âthe very center of townâ
identical, selfsame, very
(adjective) being the exact same one; not any other:; âthis is the identical room we stayed in beforeâ; âthe themes of his stories are one and the sameâ; âsaw the selfsame quotation in two newspapersâ; âon this very spotâ; âthe very thing he said yesterdayâ; âthe very man I want to seeâ
very, really, real, rattling
(adverb) used as intensifiers; ârealâ is sometimes used informally for âreallyâ; ârattlingâ is informal; âshe was very giftedâ; âhe played very wellâ; âa really enjoyable eveningâ; âIâm real sorry about itâ; âa rattling good yarnâ
very
(adverb) precisely so; âon the very next pageâ; âhe expected the very oppositeâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
very (not generally comparable, comparative verier, superlative veriest)
True, real, actual.
The same; identical.
With limiting effect: mere.
Usage notes
• very is used exclusively attributively and never predicatively.
Synonyms
• ilk, selfsame
Adverb
very (not comparable)
To a great extent or degree.
Synonyms: greatly, drastically, extremely
Conforming to fact, reality or rule; true.
Synonyms: truly, actually, authentically
(with superlatives) Used to firmly establish that nothing else surpasses in some respect.
Usage notes
• When used in their senses as degree adverbs, "very" and "too" never modify verbs (except in some dialects influenced by Chinese: see citations).
Synonyms
• (to a great extent): ever so, main (dialectal), mighty, sore (archaic), swith (dialectal), way too, eminently
Anagrams
• ev'ry
Source: Wiktionary
Ver"y, a. [Compar. Verier; superl. Veriest.] Etym: [OE. verai,
verray, OF. verai, vrai, F. vrai, (assumed) LL. veracus, for L. verax
true, veracious, fr. verus true; akin to OHG. & OS. war, G. wahr, D.
waar; perhaps originally, that is or exists, and akin to E. was. Cf.
Aver, v. t., Veracious, Verdict, Verity.]
Definition: True; real; actual; veritable.
Whether thou be my very son Esau or not. Gen. xxvii. 21.
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth
a matter separateth very friends. Prov. xvii. 9.
The very essence of truth is plainness and brightness. Milton.
I looked on the consideration of public service or public ornament to
be real and very justice. Burke.
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." Shak. "The
very rats instinctively have quit it." Shak. "Yea, there where very
desolation dwells." Milton. Very is used occasionally in the
comparative degree, and more frequently in the superlative. "Was not
my lord the verier wag of the two" Shak. "The veriest hermit in the
nation." Pope. "He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into
the veriest falsehood." Hawthorne. Very Reverend. See the Note under
Reverend.
Ver"y, adv.
Definition: 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.
LIGHT SIGNALS
Ver"y's, or Ver"y, night signals . [After Lieut. Samuel W. Very, who
invented the system in 1877.] (Naut.)
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition