- used to emphasize that you are talking about a particular thing or person and not about another synonym actual
- He might be phoning her at this very moment.
- The US initiated the deal for that very reason.
- I'd intended to tell him that very day.
- Those were her very words.
- That's the very thing I need.
- used to emphasize an extreme place or time
- It happens at the very beginning of the book.
- Education is at the very top of our list of priorities.
- at the very end of the film
- The proposed site is in the very heart of the city.
- It was clear from the very start that he was in no mood to compromise.
- The news thrilled me to the very core of my being.
- used to emphasize a noun synonym mere
- The very nature of its business is to secretly monitor and profile internet users' habits.
- a civil war in which the very existence of the nation is in question
- The very fact that the Army is now polling its members on the subject suggests it may be softening its stance.
- ‘I can't do that!’ she gasped, appalled at the very idea.
- The very thought of drink made him feel sick.
- Many readers will scoff at the very notion.
- The novel captures the very essence of life in nineteenth-century France.
Word OriginMiddle English (as an adjective in the sense ‘real, genuine’): from Old French verai, based on Latin verus ‘true’.
Idioms
See very in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee very in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbefore/in front of somebody’s (very) eyes
- in somebody’s presence; in front of somebody
- He had seen his life's work destroyed before his very eyes.
- Before our very eyes, the bird snatched the fish from the plate and flew off.
Check pronunciation:
very