Meaning of very in English

very

adverb

/ˈver.i/ uk

/ˈver.i/

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(used to add emphasis to an adjective or adverb) to a great degree or extremely:

The situation is very serious.

We're very, very sorry about what's happened.

Think about it very carefully before deciding.

How very childish of her to refuse to speak to me!

"Are you tired?" "No, not very."

Thank you very much.

"Did you enjoy the play?" "Very much so." (= Yes.)

I can't very well (= it would not be right for me to) say sorry when I didn't do anything wrong.

used to add force to a superlative adjective or to the adjectives "own" or "same":

This is the very best chocolate cake I've ever tasted.

She always leaves her homework to the very last moment.

We now have our very own library in the neighborhood.

This is the very same (= exactly the same) place we sat the last time we came.

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We were very tired after our climb.
The surname 'Smith' is very common in Britain.
The laws controlling drugs are very strict in this country.
It's very convenient that you live near the office.
He was very upset that you didn't reply to his letters.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Linguistics: very & extreme

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Grammar

Very

We use very before adverbs and adjectives to add emphasis. It means ‘to a great degree’: …

Idioms

all very well/fine/good
very good
very well

very

adjective [ before noun ]

/ˈver.i/ uk

/ˈver.i/

very adjective [before noun] (EXACT)

(used to add emphasis to a noun) exact or particular:

This is the very book I've been looking for all month.

You're the very person we need for the job.

What ended up happening was the very thing we feared the most.

The letter was sent on Monday from Berlin and arrived in Hamburg the very same/next day.

The very idea/thought of having her friends to stay fills me with dread.

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She walked in wearing the very dress the hostess had on.
I would like to have come, but that's the very day my niece is coming to stay with me.
While claiming to promote positive images of women, advertisers are in fact doing the very opposite.
He was sitting in the very spot where I had first seen him, all those years before.
Ah, there you are - the very woman I was hoping to see!

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Particular and individual

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very adjective [before noun] (FARTHEST POINT)

used to describe or emphasize the farthest point of something:

He found the piece of paper he had lost at the very bottom of the pile.

We were at the very end of the line, so we didn't manage to get any tickets.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Linguistics: very & extreme

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Idiom

be the very thing

(Definition of very from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

very | Intermediate English

very

adverb [ not gradable ]

/ˈver·i/

very adverb [not gradable] (EXTREMELY)

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(used to add emphasis to an adjective or adverb) to a great degree, or extremely:

I was working very hard, but I enjoyed it.

It’s very easy to find our house.

She was a very good teacher.

People didn’t like him very much.

Idiom

very well

very

adjective [ not gradable ]

/ˈver·i/

very adjective [not gradable] (EXACT)

(used to add emphasis to a noun) exact or particular:

I’d heard stories about him and now here he was, the very person I now accompanied.

This very moment was what he had been waiting for.

He found the missing paper at the very bottom of the pile.

(Definition of very from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

What is the pronunciation of very?

A1,C2

Translations of very

in Chinese (Traditional)

（用於強調形容詞或副詞）很，非常, （用於強調形容詞最高級或 own，same 等形容詞）完全，最，正是, 精確的…

in Chinese (Simplified)

（用于强调形容词或副词）很，非常, （用于强调形容词最高级或 own，same 等形容词）完全，最，正是, 精确的…

in Spanish

muy, gran, exactamente [masculine-feminine…

in Portuguese

muito, enfatiza um superlativo, mesmo/-ma…

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खूप, च (नामा वर भर देण्यासाठी वापरले जाते)…

とても, 非常（ひじょう）に, 確（たし）かに…

çok, kendi, asıl…

très, tout/toute, de loin…

molt…

heel, zeer, aller-…

(ஒரு பெயரடை அல்லது வினையுரிச்சொல்லுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் சேர்க்கப் பயன்படுகிறது) ஒரு சிறந்த பட்டம் அல்லது மிகவும், (பெயர்ச்சொல்லுக்கு முக்கியத்துவம் சேர்க்கப் பயன்படுகிறது) சரியான அல்லது குறிப்பிட்ட…

बहुत, अत्यंत, विशेषण या क्रियाविशेषण पर बल देने हेतु प्रयुक्त…

(વિશેષણ કે ક્રિયા-વિશેષણનું મહત્વ વધારવા વપરાતો શબ્દ કે શબ્દ સમૂહ) બહોળા પ્રમાણમાં, અત્યાધિક, પુષ્કળ…

meget, særlig, aller-…

mycket, riktigt, [så] särdeles…

sangat, paling, -nya…

sehr, aller-, ganz…