never so

Never \Nev"er\ (n[e^]v"[~e]r), adv. [AS. n[=ae]fre; ne not, no +
   [=ae]fre ever.]
   1. Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past,
      present, or future. --Shak.
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            Death still draws nearer, never seeming near.
                                                  --Pope.
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   2. In no degree; not in the least; not.
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            Whosoever has a friend to guide him, may carry his
            eyes in another man's head, and yet see never the
            worse.                                --South.
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            And he answered him to never a word.  --Matt. xxvii.
                                                  14.
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   Note: Never is much used in composition with present
         participles to form adjectives, as in never-ceasing,
         never-dying, never-ending, never-fading, never-failing,
         etc., retaining its usual signification.
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   {Never a deal}, not a bit. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

   {Never so}, as never before; more than at any other time, or
      in any other circumstances; especially; particularly; --
      now often expressed or replaced by {ever so}.

            Ask me never so much dower and gift.  --Gen. xxxiv.
                                                  12.

            A fear of battery, . . . though never so well
            grounded, is no duress.               --Blackstone.
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