The meaning of NEVER is not ever : at no time. How to use never in a sentence. NEVER definition: 1.

Understanding the Context

not at any time or not on any occasion: 2. used as a way of saying "never" with extra emphasis…. Learn more. Never means at no time in the past or at no time in the future.

Key Insights

I have never lost the weight I put on in my teens. Never had he been so free of worry. That was a mistake. We'll never do it again. From Middle English nevere, navere, nævere, from Old English nǣfre (“never”), equivalent to ne +‎ ever.

Final Thoughts

never (not comparable) I finally finished, and I never do wanna do it again. We were at the same college, but happened never to meet. I'll never not like you. The adverb never means "at no time," or "not at all." If you're never going to win a Monopoly game against your brother, you won't beat him next week, next year, or when you're both 80 years old. In informal speech and writing, never can be used instead of not with the simple past tenses of certain verbs for emphasis (I never said that; I never realized how clever he was), but this usage should be avoided in serious writing Definition of never adverb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

There are 20 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word never, four of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.