What does "whichever" mean?

Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'.

What is a synonym for "whichever"?

Common synonyms include: no matter what, whichsoever.

Pronounced //wɪt͡ʃˈɛvɚ//.

//wɪt͡ʃˈɛvɚ// det, pron, slang

det, pron, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Determiner

1
Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'. interrogative
"Good heavens! Whichever button did you press to make that happen?!"
2
Regardless of the ... that; no matter which.
"It won't work, whichever buttons you press."
3
Any or either ... that; the ... that.
"Choose whichever card you like."
4
According to or depending upon which.
"I'll buy the red shirt or the blue shirt, whichever one is cheaper."

Pronoun

1
Which ever; emphatic form of 'which'. interrogative
"These chocolates all look delicious. Whichever shall I choose?"
2
Irrespective of the one(s) that; no matter which one(s).
"Whichever you pick, be content with it."
3
Any or either one(s) that; the one(s) that.
"I have a few books; please borrow whichever interest you."
4
Any or either one(s). informal
"I don't mind which you have. Take whichever."
5
According to or depending upon which one(s).
"I'll buy the red shirt or the blue shirt, whichever is cheaper."

"You may read whichever book you like."

From Middle English qwichever, whiche ever, whiche evere, which ever, which evere; equivalent to which + ever.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.