Why
[waɪ]
Definition
(noun.) the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase `the whys and wherefores'.
Typist: Shelby--From WordNet
Definition
(adv.) For what cause, reason, or purpose; on what account; wherefore; -- used interrogatively. See the Note under What, pron., 1.
(adv.) For which; on account of which; -- used relatively.
(adv.) The reason or cause for which; that on account of which; on what account; as, I know not why he left town so suddenly; -- used as a compound relative.
(n.) A young heifer.
Checker: Vivian
Synonyms and Synonymous
ad. [1]. Wherefore, for what cause or reason, on what account.[2]. For what purpose.
Editor: Rodney
Examples
- Why, the breeches-maker, said Bob Manners, speaking very slow. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Why don't she come? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I don't see why you shouldn't like me to know that you wished to do me a service, my dear fellow. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Why, the man was weary of you, and would have jilted you, but that Dobbin forced him to keep his word. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Why, I was afraid of being shot, said Alvanly, very quietly. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Why, my dear lad, I am even now courting the Nine, and turning Aristophanes into good English verse. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Why, I am a boy, sir, to half a dozen old codgers here! Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- But why should I not bear it as others have borne it before me! Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Why were we ever told to bring navy revolvers with us if we had to be protected at last by this infamous star-spangled scum of the desert? Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- And is that why you would put tables and chairs upon them, and have people walking over them with heavy boots? Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Why do you always avoid Mr. Tudor? Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- In that case why not question the housekeeper? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Why revive it? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Was it known why he stayed away? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Why can you no longer be a clergyman? Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
Edited by Lancelot