how

how is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 7 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.2. To what degree or extent, number or amount; in what proportion; by what measure or quality. O, how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Ps. cxix.
  2. 2.By how much they would diminish the present extent of the sea, so much they would impair the fertility, and fountains, and rivers of the earth. Bentley.
  3. 3.For what reason; from what cause. How now, my love! why is your cheek so pale Shak.
  4. 4.In what state, condition, or plight. How, and with what reproach, shall I return Dryden.
  5. 5.By what name, designation, or title. How art thou called Shak.
  6. 6.At what price; how dear. [Obs.] How a score of ewes now Shak. Note: How is used in each sense, interrogatively, interjectionally, and relatively; it is also often employed to emphasize an interrogation or exclamation. "How are the mighty fallen!" 2 Sam. i.
  7. 7.Sometimes, also, it is used as a noun; -- as, the how, the when, the wherefore. Shelley. Let me beg you -- don't say "How" for "What" Holmes.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is how.

Sources

  • Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
  • Synonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
  • Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/how
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