# however

> English word · Adverb · IPA /haʊˈɛvə/ · frequency rank #237

## Definitions
1. Nevertheless; yet, still; in spite of that.
2. In contrast.
3. Regardless of how; no matter how
4. Regardless of how; regardless of the way in which.
5. In any way in which; how.
6. In any way that one likes or chooses; in a haphazard or spontaneous way.
7. How ever: an emphatic form of how, used to ask in what manner.
8. In any case, at any rate, at all events.

## Etymology
From Middle English however, how-ever, how-evere; equivalent to how + ever. Compare howsoever.

## Easily confused with
- **hover** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hover-vs-however)
- **Hoover** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoover-vs-however)

## Common misspellings (10)
`hhowever`, `hoewver`, `howeevr`, `howeverr`, `howevre`, `howevver`, `howveer`, `howwever`, `hwoever`, `ohwever`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/however