Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

always

/ˈɔləs/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.76 in modern English

Syllables: al-ways
IPA: /ˈɔləs/

12

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning.

adv

Constantly during a certain period, or regularly at stated intervals (opposed to sometimes or occasionally).

adv

if necessary, or if there is no better option; in any event.

Informal

Example Sentences

"God is always the same."
"Green has always been my favorite color. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember."
"Airplanes did not always exist as a form of transportation."
"Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better."
"In this street, the shops always close during lunchtime."
"His liveries are black,—his carriage is black,—he always rides a black galloway,—and, faith, if he ever marry again, I think he will show his respect to the sainted Maria by marrying a black woman."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-West Germanic *all Old English eall Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *wegaz Proto-West Germanic *weg Old English weġ Old English ealneġ Middle English alwey Proto-Germanic *-as Proto-West Germanic *-as Old English -es Middle English -es Middle English alweyes English always From Middle English alweyes, alwayes, alweys, a variant of Middle English alwey, alway (“always”), from Old English ealneġ, ealne weġ (“always, perpetually”, literally “all the way, all the while, continuously”), from ealne + weġ (accusative case), equivalent to alway + -s. Cognate with Scots always (“always”), Low German allerwegens (“very often”, literally “all ways'”). More at all, way.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: alweyes, alwey, ealneġ
Suffix: alway

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɔləs/
British English: /ˈɔːl.weɪz/

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

alwayes (alternative, obsolete) alwayz (alternative, obsolete) alwayez (alternative, obsolete) allus (alternative, pronunciation spelling)

Derived Forms

alwaysness

Phrases

a bad penny always comes back a bad penny always turns up a bad workman always blames his tools always already always-on as always good boys deserve fudge always it is always darkest before the dawn

Frequently Paired Words

frequency

Synonyms

perpetually continually all the time every time 5ever ad infinitum always aye endlessly eternally ever ever after

Antonyms

at no time never at latter Lammas in the reign of Queen Dick ne'er never ever not while pussy's a cat on the second Tuesday of the week sine die when Hell freezes over when pigs fly when two Sundays come together

Rhymes With

hallways

Questions

How do you pronounce always?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɔləs/.
What does always mean?: At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning.
Where does always come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce always

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “always”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɔləs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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