Whether
['weðə] or ['wɛðɚ]
Definition
(pron.) Which (of two); which one (of two); -- used interrogatively and relatively.
(conj.) In case; if; -- used to introduce the first or two or more alternative clauses, the other or others being connected by or, or by or whether. When the second of two alternatives is the simple negative of the first it is sometimes only indicated by the particle not or no after the correlative, and sometimes it is omitted entirely as being distinctly implied in the whether of the first.
Typist: Shelby
Definition
interrog. and rel. pron. signifying which of two.—conj. which of two alternatives.—interrog. adv. introducing the first of two questions the second being introduced by or—also conj.—Whether or no (coll.) in any case surely.
Checked by Elaine
Examples
- It may be questioned whether some of the present pedagogical interest in the matter of values of studies is not either excessive or else too narrow. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- And particularly, whether they were ever admitted as members in the lower senate? Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- The same experienced union has the same effect on the mind, whether the united objects be motives, volitions and actions; or figure and motion. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- I wonder what sort of a girl she is--whether good or naughty. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Come on, my boy, and we shall see whether it will not fit the lock. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Will you say whether you approve of my proposal? Plato. The Republic.
- While breakfasting he considered whether he should ride to Middlemarch at once, or wait for Lydgate's arrival. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Whether his whole soul is devoted to the great or whether he yields them nothing beyond the services he sells is his personal secret. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I wonder whether it is so. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Whether truth--be it religious or moral truth--speak eloquently and in well-chosen language or not, its voice should be heard with reverence. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I was thinking whether you wouldn't like me to be rich? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- He asked his informant, the butler, whether the doctor had been sent for. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- She must have a sensation of being honoured, and whether thinking of herself or her brother, she must have a strong feeling of gratitude. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Whether it was alive. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Whether friends were present or absent, she had always a kind smile for him and was attentive to his pleasure and comfort. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- I am not sufficiently acquainted with such subjects to know whether it is at all remarkable that I almost always dreamed of that period of my life. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I felt some hesitation in suggesting rank as high as the colonelcy of a regiment, feeling somewhat doubtful whether I would be equal to the position. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Whether from awe or pity, nobody raised the price on him. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- We have told our story of Europe; the reader may judge whether the glitter of the German sword is exceptionally blinding. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Whether of questionable childishness or not in any other matters, Mr. Skimpole had a child's enjoyment of change and bright weather. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Go, herald, and ask her whether she expects any one to do battle for her in this her cause. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- I wonder, if she was to die, whether she'd leave Davy anything? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- And what does it signify whether unmarried and never-to-be-married women are unattractive and inelegant or not? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Assuredly, pleasant enough: but whether healthy or not is another question. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Who shall analyse those tears and say whether they were sweet or bitter? William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- But conditions change whether statesmen wish them to or not; society must have new institutions to fit new wants, and all that rigid conservatism can do is to make the transitions difficult. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- What would he do, whether or not? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- We know nothing of the language of Pal?olithic man; we do not even know whether Pal?olithic man talked freely. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Is appealed to, at the fish stage of the banquet, by Veneering, on the disputed question whether his cousin Lord Snigsworth is in or out of town? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- At one time I considered whether I should not declare myself guilty, and suffer the penalty of the law, less innocent than poor Justine had been. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
Checked by Elaine