• (RP) IPA: /ʍɒtˈɛvə/
• (GA) IPA: /wʌtˈɛvɚ/

1. No matter what; for any

   Whatever choice you make, there will be consequences.

2. (relative) Anything that.

   Whatever reasons you have for doing this are unimportant to me.

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page viii:

     Whatever utility the work may have outside of its stated boundaries will be largely because of such a nonprovincial approach.

• whatever creams your twinkie
• whatever floats your boat
• whatever it takes

• French: quel que soit, n'importe quel, n'importe quelle, peu importe, tampis
• German: Jacke wie Hose
• Italian: qualunque, qualsiasi, qualsivoglia, come vuoi, checché
• Portuguese: qualquer que seja
• Russian: како́й бы ни
• Spanish: cualquier

• French: quoi que
• German: was immer, was auch immer
• Italian: qualsiasi cosa
• Portuguese: qualquer coisa que
• Russian: всё, что
• Spanish: lo que sea que, cualquier cosa que

1. No matter what; for any

   Whatever he does, he will still lose the game.

2. (relative) Anything; sometimes used to indicate that the speaker does not care about options.

   I’ll do whatever I can.

   • 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], OCLC 960856019 ↗, lines 280–281, page 16 ↗:

     And ſpight of Pride, and in thy Reaſon's ſpight, / One Truth is clear; "Whatever Is, is {{smallcaps

• French: n'importe quoi, peu importe
• German: egal
• Portuguese: qualquer coisa
• Russian: что уго́дно
• Spanish: no importa, da igual, lo que sea

1. (colloquial, dismissive) A holophrastic expression used discourteously to indicate that the speaker does not consider the matter worthy of further discussion.

   "For the last time, brush your teeth!" "Whatever!"

• so what
• whoopee do
• meh
• whatev

• French: bof, c'est ça !
• German: naja, egal
• Italian: vabbè
• Portuguese: tanto faz
• Russian: всё равно́
• Spanish: como sea, filo (Chile), no importa, da igual, lo que tú digas, lo dicho, bah

whatever

1. (colloquial) Unexceptional or unimportant; blah.
2. (dated, postpositive) At all, absolutely, whatsoever.

   There is no point whatever in going on with this discussion.

   • 1864, Charles Piazzi Smyth, Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid (page 207)

     So then arose the horrible confusion perpetuated ever since, of perversely different kinds of weights, jostling each other in Britain; Troy weight and Avoirdupois weight and Apothecaries' weight, wherein or whereamongst every one is at sea with regard to testing them, and no one whatever is satisfied.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314 ↗, page 0045 ↗:

     Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

• however
• howsoever
• no matter what
• whatsoever
• whenever
• whensoever
• wheresoever
• wherever
• whichever
• whichsoever
• whoever
• whomever
• whomsoever
• whosoever
• whyever
• whysoever