very

ver·y  (vr)

adv.

1. In a high degree; extremely: very happy; very much admired.

2. Truly; absolutely: the very best advice; attended the very same schools.

3. Very Used in titles: the Very Reverend Jane Smith.

adj. ver·i·er, ver·i·est

1. Complete; absolute: at the very end of his career; the very opposite.

2. Being the same one; identical: the very question she asked yesterday.

3. Being particularly suitable or appropriate: the very item needed to increase sales.

4. Being precisely as stated: the very center of town.

5. Mere: The very thought is frightening.

6. Actual: caught in the very act of stealing.

7. Genuine; true: "Like very sanctity, she did approach" Shakespeare.

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[Middle English verrai, from Old French verai, true, from Vulgar Latin *vrcus, from Latin vrx, vrc-, truthful, from vrus, true; see wr-o- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: In general, very is not used alone to modify a past participle. Thus we may say of a book, for example, that it has been very much praised, very much criticized, very much applauded, and so on, but not that it has been very praised, very criticized, or very applauded. However, when past participle forms are used as adjectives, modification by a bare very, or by analogous adverbs such as quite, is acceptable: there can be no objection to phrases such as a very creased handkerchief, a very celebrated singer, or a very polished performance. In some cases there is disagreement as to whether a particular participle can be properly used as an adjective: over the years objections have been raised to very immediately preceding delighted, interested, annoyed, pleased, disappointed, and irritated. All these words are now well established as adjectives, as indicated by the fact that they can be used attributively (a delighted audience, a pleased look, a disappointed young man) as well as by other syntactic criteria. But the status of other participles is still in flux. Some speakers accept phrases such as very appreciated, very astonished, or very heartened, while others prefer alternatives using very much. What is more, some participles allow treatment as adjectives in one sense but not another: one may speak of a very inflated reputation, for example, but not, ordinarily, of a very inflated balloon. As a result, there is no sure way to tell which participles may be modified by a bare verysyntactic tests such as the use of the participle as an attributive adjective will themselves yield different judgments for different speakersand writers must trust their ears. When in doubt, the use of very much is generally the safer alternative.

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very

Adverb

used to add emphasis to adjectives and adverbs that are able to be graded: I'm very happy, he'll be home very soon

Adjective

used with nouns to give emphasis or exaggerated intensity: the very end of his visit, the very thing I need [Old French verai true]

USAGE: In strict usage adverbs of degree such as very, too, quite, really, and extremely are used only to qualify adjectives: he is very happy; she is too sad. By this rule, these words should not be used to qualify past participles that follow the verb to be, since they would then be technically qualifying verbs. With the exception of certain participles, such as tired or disappointed, that have come to be regarded as adjectives, all other past participles are qualified by adverbs such as much, greatly, seriously, or excessively: he has been much (not very) inconvenienced; she has been excessively (not too) criticized.

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	very - precisely as stated; "the very center of town" precise - sharply exact or accurate or delimited; "a precise mind"; "specified a precise amount"; "arrived at the precise moment"
	2.	very - being the exact same one; not any other:; "this is the identical room we stayed in before"; "the themes of his stories are one and the same"; "saw the selfsame quotation in two newspapers"; "on this very spot"; "the very thing he said yesterday"; "the very man I want to see" selfsame, identical same - same in identity; "the same man I saw yesterday"; "never wore the same dress twice"; "this road is the same one we were on yesterday"; "on the same side of the street"
Adv.	1.	very - used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal; "she was very gifted"; "he played very well"; "a really enjoyable evening"; "I'm real sorry about it"; "a rattling good yarn" rattling, real, really
	2.	very - precisely so; "on the very next page"; "he expected the very opposite"

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very

adverb 1. extremely, highly, greatly, really, deeply, particularly, seriously (informal) truly, absolutely, terribly, remarkably, unusually, jolly Brit. wonderfully, profoundly, decidedly, awfully (informal) acutely, exceedingly, excessively, noticeably, eminently, superlatively, uncommonly, surpassingly

adjective 2. exact, actual, precise, same, real, express, identical, unqualified, selfsame

3. ideal, perfect, right, fitting, appropriate, suitable, spot on Brit. (informal) apt, just the job Brit. (informal)

USAGE In strict usage, adverbs of degree such as very, too, quite, really, and extremely are used only to qualify adjectives: he is very happy; she is too sad. By this rule, these words should not be used to qualify past participles that follow the verb to be, since they would then be technically qualifying verbs. With the exception of certain participles, such as tired or disappointed, that have come to be regarded as adjectives, all other past participles are qualified by adverbs such as much, greatly, seriously, or excessively: he has been much (not very) inconvenienced; she has been excessively (not too) criticized.

Translations

very [ˈvɛrɪ] adv → muy

adj the very book which → el mismo libro que;

the very last → el último (de todos);

at the very least → al menos;

very much → muchísimo;

very well/little → muy bien/poco;

very high frequency (RADIO) → frecuencia muy alta;

it's very cold → hace mucho frío;

the very thought (of it) alarms me → con sólo pensarlo me entra miedo

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very [ˈvɛrɪ] adv → très

adj the very book which → le livre même que;

the very thought (of it) ... → rien que d'y penser ...;

at the very end → tout à la fin;

the very last → le tout dernier;

at the very least → au moins;

very well → très bien;

very little → très peu;

very much → beaucoup

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very [ˈvɛrɪ] adv → sehr

adj the very book which ... → genau das Buch, das ...;

the very last → der/die/das Allerletzte;

at the very least → allerwenigstens;

very well/little → sehr gut/wenig;

very much → sehr viel;

(like, hope) → sehr;

the very thought (of it) alarms me → der bloße Gedanke (daran) beunruhigt mich;

at the very end → ganz am Ende

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very [ˈvɛrɪ] adv → molto

adj the very book which → proprio il libro che;

very much → moltissimo;

very well → molto bene;

very little → molto poco;

at the very end → proprio alla fine;

the very last → proprio l'ultimo;

at the very least → almeno;

the very thought (of it) alarms me → il solo pensiero mi spaventa, sono spaventato solo al pensiero