wherefore
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈwɛrˌfɔr/
- Archaic
:
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- It makes no difference who you are or what your life brings, nor the why or the wherefore of it; there is a story there for you.
There is a wherefore the philosopher philosophizes for something more than for the sake of philosophizing.
- There is a wherefore the philosopher philosophizes for something more than for the sake of philosophizing.
Examples
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The whys and wherefores are secondary; all that matters is taking power away from those who would use it to bring our system crashing down.
Blog text (15) -
So he goes on and he says, wherefore exercise yourself in that which is in your power.
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We want to know, as he says, the whys of things, the cause, and we also want to know the wherefore, the end.
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I had imagined I'd stop feeling like a stranger, stop having to explain my whys and wherefores to anyone who wanted to know, stop being surprised at where I found myself.
Fiction book (1992) -
"Maybe someday I can get more of the whys and wherefores of your mother and how she coped, but I want to know how you were positioned in the family."
Fiction book (1993) -
It allows us to establish priorities on a rational basis, to better understand the complex interrelationships between long-standing institutions and practices, and to appreciate the whys and wherefores of the distribution of authority between state and society.
Academic text (2001) -
We want to know the whys and wherefore of this unexpected outcome.
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The research focused on the whys and wherefore of climate change impacts.
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Understanding the wherefore of her decision requires looking at her past experiences.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A cause or explanation for something that happened
79
6.0
A set of reasons that explains a decision or action
9
1.0
The reason something happens or is done
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Wherefore comes from old English parts where and for, which together meant 'for what reason'. So wherefore simply asks 'why' and today means the reason or explanation.