Word.ws English Dictionary

why and wherefore

why and wherefore noun: a full and complete explanation.

Noun

why and wherefore (plural whys and wherefores or (rare) whies and wherefores)

  1. (set phrase, often pluralized) A full and complete explanation.
    • Never mind the why and wherefore, / Love can level ranks, and therefore, / Though his lordship's station's mighty / Though stupendous be his brain.1879, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, composer, H.M.S. Pinafore; […], San Francisco: Bacon & Company, […], →OCLC
    • Bursting into the kirk she called the office-bearers to her assistance, whereupon the minister in miniature raised his voice and demanded the why and wherefore of the ungodly disturbance.1888, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “(please specify the page)”, in Auld Licht Idylls, London: Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC

Examples of why and wherefore in a sentence

  • 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...
  • [T]ruth be told, once clothes make it into the stores, the why and wherefore of their creation in the designer mind is essentially beside the point.2015 February 16, Vanessa Friedman, “At New York Fashion Week, Whatever Looks Warm Will Work”, in New York Times, retrieved 17 Jun 2018:

Forms of why and wherefore

pluralwhys and wherefores
plural (rare)whies and wherefores

Questions about why and wherefore

What does why and wherefore mean?
Why and wherefore means a full and complete explanation.
How do you use why and wherefore in a sentence?
Those whose nature it is to be rational will instinctively ask why and wherefore, and wrestle with themselves for an answer.
What part of speech is why and wherefore?
Why and wherefore is a noun.
What is the plural of why and wherefore?
The plural of why and wherefore is whys and wherefores.

Words near why and wherefore in the dictionary

  1. WHV
  2. whves
  3. whvs
  4. why
  5. why am I not surprised
  6. why and wherefore
  7. why aye
  8. why buy a book when you can join a library
  9. why buy a book when you can join the library
  10. why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free
  11. why come

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: why and wherefore (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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