Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use wherefore in a sentence

19 example sentences · adverb, conjunction, noun

Wherefore means why, for what reason, because of what. Example: “I don't want to know the whys or the wherefores of your decision.”

Examples of wherefore by meaning

adverbWhy, for what reason, because of what.

  • "Wherefore this worried look on your face?1920, Herman Cyril McNeile, chapter 1, in Bulldog Drummond

adverbTherefore; thus.

  • Wherefore, Judge G.2010 March 17, House of the United States, House Resolution 1031

conjunctionBecause of which.

  • Wherefore it was that by the time the authorities awoke to the fact that something had happened Billy Byrne was fifty miles west of Joliet, bowling along aboard a fast Santa Fe freight.1914 October – 1916 July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Mucker, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published 31 October 1921...

nounAn intent or purpose; a why.

  • Let Us make one to seek, to seek and never to find out concerning the wherefore of the making of the gods.1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC
  • They want their money without reference to the hows and wherefores.1996, Richard Bausch, Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America, and All the Ships at Sea, page 72

More sentences with wherefore

  • I don't want to know the whys or the wherefores of your decision.From the entry why
  • Wherefore I refrain from recording the truth with which I bepepper my letters and our passionate conversations.1995, Frances Gregg, “Mystic Leeway”, in Ben Jones, editor, Women's Experience Series, volume 6, Carleton University Press, →ISBN, page 170. From the entry bepepper
  • You may be a minutesworth of whys and wherefores, or a bright and breezy 7 seconder.1959, General Electric Company advert in New Scientist, page 509. From the entry minutesworth
  • Bloom comes out with the why and the wherefore and all the codology of the business.1922, James Joyce, Ulysses. From the entry codology
  • That's a lot of wherefores and neverminds, but I began to read it with my one good eye.2006, Rick Vassar, Hide! Here Comes the Insurance Guy: A Practical Guide to Understanding, page 25. From the entry neverminds
  • Of the hundreds of thousands who served in Vietnam, most still do not understand the whys and wherefores of our involvement.September 5 2004, Albert M. Forget, “Question integrity of vets attacking Kerry”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer. From the entry whys and wherefores
  • Wherefore it does not always follow that where there is a covenant the action of deceit will not lie.[1442, William Paston, Justice of the Common Pleas, Shipton v. Dogge (No. 2); Doige’s Case (Y. B. Trinity 20 Hen. VI, folio 34, pl. 4…. From the entry enfeoff
  • When learning about people and their circumstances, some tend to form generalizations surrounding the whats and wherefores of the people.1955, George Burgess, Barriers and Bridges. From the entry whats
  • Those whose nature it is to be rational will instinctively ask why and wherefore, and wrestle with themselves for an answer.1922, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “First Steps in Education”, in Fantasia of the Unconscious, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Seltzer, →OCLC, pages…. From the entry Tom, Dick and Harry
  • Wherefore didst thou quit thy work to go a-gadding?"1903, Howard Pyle, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Part III, Chapter Fourth, page 123. From the entry gad
  • For,' said he, 'that was our forbears' tryst for true lovers, and wherefore no for you and me?'1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide. From the entry afore
  • Wherefore, the substance of matter and body, as distinguished from the accidents, is the only thing in the world that is incorruptible and undestroyable.2004, Ralph Cudworth, The True Intellectual System of the Universe Part One - Page 198. From the entry undestroyable
  • For he appears to have been of this nature, wherefore epileptic afflictions were called by the ancients 'the sacred disease' after him.1927, Aristotle, translated by E[dward] M[organ] Forster, edited by J[ohn] A[lexander] Smith and W[illiam] D[avid] Ross, Problemata [The…. From the entry atrabilious
  • Wherefore, in these days, almost every secret manslaughter is punished as murdrum, except those of whom (as I have said) it is certain that they are of servile condition.1918, G.G. Coulton, Social Life in Britain, page 26. From the entry murdrum

Meaning of wherefore

  1. adverb Why, for what reason, because of what.
  2. adverb Therefore; thus.
  3. conjunction Because of which.

Full definition of wherefore

Questions about wherefore in a sentence

How do you use wherefore in a sentence?
Wherefore is used as an adverb, conjunction and noun. For example: “I don't want to know the whys or the wherefores of your decision.”
What is a short sentence with wherefore?
“Wherefore, Judge G.”
What does wherefore mean?
Wherefore means why, for what reason, because of what.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: wherefore (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use wherefore in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/wherefore. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.