Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Awhile |
AwhileAdverb1. For a short time; "sit down and stay awhile"; "they settled awhile in Virginia before moving West"; "the baby was quiet for a while". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "awhile" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Note: Awhile \A*while"\, adverb. [Adj. + while time, interval.]. (references) |
Synonym: AwhileSynonym: for a while (adv). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Transientness | Adverb: temporarily; Adjective: pro tempore; for the moment, for a time; awhile, en passant, in transitu; in a short time; soon; (early); briefly; Adjective: at short notice; on the point of, on the eve of; in articulo; between cup and lip. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Awhile |
| English words defined with "awhile": for a while ♦ To break in upon. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "awhile": Aratos ♦ CYMBOPOGON NARDUS ♦ Embalm ♦ Lightning ♦ Pride of the Morning, PURITY ♦ SAM, Satan's Journey to Earth ♦ Two L or LL. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Sure, change is fun, for awhile. (Notorious; writing credit: Ben Hecht) I realize it's been awhile since you've been with us, but you remember how everything goes, don't you (Miss Congeniality; writing credit: Marc Lawrence; Katie Ford) That, and all that chantin' and jumpin' and spacin' out. After awhile, your wiring blows (Ticket to Heaven; writing credit: Anne Cameron; Josh Freed) We've lost some good friends here, Tai and it's nice to remember them once in awhile! (Digimon: Digital Monsters; writing credit: Dayna Barron) These vampires have been here for awhile. They've nested (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) | |
Lyrics | Let's wait awhile longer (Let's Wait Awhile; performing artist: Janet Jackson) And did awhile (Pop A Top; performing artist: Alan Jackson) To forget about life for awhile. ("Piano Man"; performing artist: Billy Joel) Only wanted to play awhile (Thought I'd Died And Gone To Heaven; performing artist: Bryan Adams) Let me be there let me stay there awhile (All Through The Night; performing artist: Cyndi Lauper) | |
Clever | If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile (references; author: unknown) | |
Song Titles | Let's Wait Awhile (performing artist: Janet Jackson) It's Been Awhile (performing artist: Staind) Stay Awhile (performing artist: The Bells) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Think I'll sleep on the sofa for awhile!. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Doubled up inside" by Ozgur Atmaca Commentary: "Doubled up inside take awhile to shed my grief, doubled up inside taunted, cruel.. + tripod Used + full view suggested + title inspired by portishead + model : me Cam : Sony DSC-P9 Edit : PS 7.0 ." | "Tree" by C.H. So Commentary: "I am sure the tree hasn't been photosynthesizing this much for awhile. Summer is here finally!!!." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | A quarter thrown onto a flat surface and allowed to spin for awhile. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
John Keats | But let me laugh awhile, I've mickle time to grieve. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | We were silent for awhile, and then Arthur went off on another tack |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | He had long been patient, pleading with the sinful soul, giving it time to repent, sparing it yet awhile. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | They let her rest awhile, and then helped her up again, and the three walked back and forth, back and forth between the pains |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | These gentlemen, after they had awhile examined my shape with much nicety, were of different opinions concerning me. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | When going into cabins or outbuildings (or work areas) that have been closed for awhile, open them up and air out before cleaning. (references) | |
However, most doctors say that even though it takes awhile for sexual function to return fully, with time, most men are able to enjoy sex again. (references) | ||
You may notice that your urinary stream is stronger right after surgery, but it may take awhile before you can urinate completely normally again. (references) | ||
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | EMBALM, v.i. To cheat vegetation by locking up the gases upon which it feeds. By embalming their dead and thereby deranging the natural balance between animal and vegetable life, the Egyptians made their once fertile and populous country barren and incapable of supporting more than a meagre crew. The modern metallic burial casket is a step in the same direction, and many a dead man who ought now to be ornamenting his neighbor's lawn as a tree, or enriching his table as a bunch of radishes, is doomed to a long inutility. We shall get him after awhile if we are spared, but in the meantime the violet and rose are languishing for a nibble at his glutoeus maximus. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Michael Nader | Well, every once in awhile something happens to the nature of a person that is, let's say in a relapse. And that is outside truly of our control that's called the moment of clarity. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Awhile" is generally used as an adverb (general) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Awhile" is used about 89 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adverb (general) | 100% | 89 | 34,931 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "awhile": awhile back ♦ in awhile ♦ not yet awhile ♦ take awhile. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "awhile"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | për pak kohë, një copë herë. (various references) | |
Arabic | فترة قصيرة (little, piece), هنيهة, لحظة (breath, breathing, instant, jiffy, little while, minute, moment, second, short time, tick, trice, wink). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | малко (any, bit, few, little, remotely, several, slightly, some, somewhat, sort of), известно време (some). (various references) | |
Chinese | 一会儿. (various references) | |
Czech | na chvilku. (various references) | |
Farsi | یک چندی , مدتی , اندکی (Dab, Halfway, Some, Somedeal, Wee). (various references) | |
French | un moment. (various references) | |
German | eine weile. (various references) | |
Greek | γιά λίγο (for a while), για λίγο, ολίγο καιρό. (various references) | |
Hebrew | לזמן מה (for a while). (various references) | |
Hungarian | rövid ideig (for a short time, snap). (various references) | |
Indonesian | sesaat (a moment, amoment, momentary), seraya, sementara (interim, provisional, some, temporary), sebentar (momentary), cecah (a little, a moment, a touch of). (various references) | |
Italian | per un po'. (various references) | |
Korean | 잠깐. (various references) | |
Manx | rish tammylt (for some time past), dreayst (yet a while). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | awhileay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | por um momento, por um instante, por algum tempo. (various references) | |
Romanian | pentru un timp, pentru puţin timp (for a short while). (various references) | |
Russian | ненадолго, немного (a bit, a little, a small of, few, one or two, quite a bit, slightly), на некоторое время (for a while). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | neko vreme (while), kratko vreme (spell, wee). (various references) | |
Spanish | un rato, un momento (a few minutes, a moment, in a moment, just a second, one moment), durante un rato. (various references) | |
Swedish | en stund (for a while). (various references) | |
Thai | ชั่วครู่. (various references) | |
Turkish | biraz (a bit, a little, any, modicum, not least, some, something of, somewhat, tolerable), bir süre (a while, for a while). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | ненадовго, недовго. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | một lúc (eye-wink, second, snatch), một lát (duck, minute), một chốc (second). (various references) | |
Welsh | am ennyd, am dro. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | 1 Corinthians Chapter 16, Verse 7 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Ou qelw gar umaV arti en parodw idein elpizw de cronon tina epimeinai proV umaV ean o kurioV epitreph |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Nolo enim vos modo in transitu videre spero enim me aliquantum temporis manere apud vos si Dominus permiserit |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And Y wole not now se you in my passyng, for Y hope to dwelle with you awhile, if the Lord schal suffre. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | I will not se you now in my passage: but I trust to abyde a whyle with you yf God shall suffre me. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | For it is not my desire to see you now, on my way; because it is my hope to be with you for some time, if that is the Lord's pleasure. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | 1 Corinthians Chapter 16, Verse 7 |
| Cebuano | Kay dili ako buot karon nga makita ko kamo pinaagi sa paghapit lamang diha; gilauman ko ang pagpabilin uban kaninyo sa taastaas nga panahon, kon itugot man kini sa Ginoo. |
| Croatian | Ne bih vas doista htio tek na prolazu vidjeti jer se nadam neko vrijeme proboraviti kod vas, dopusti li Gospodin. |
| Danish | Thi nu vil jeg ikke se eder på Gennemrejse; jeg håber nemlig at forblive nogen Tid hos eder, om Herren vil tilstede det. |
| Dutch | Want ik wil u nu niet zien in het voorbijgaan, maar ik hoop enigen tijd bij u te blijven, indien het de Heere zal toelaten. |
| Finnish | Sillä en tahdo nyt vain ohimennen käydä teitä katsomassa, toivon näet saavani viipyä jonkin aikaa teidän luonanne, jos Herra sallii. |
| French | Je ne veux pas cette fois vous voir en passant, mais j`espère demeurer quelque temps auprès de vous, si le Seigneur le permet. |
| German | Ich will euch jetzt nicht sehen im Vorüberziehen; denn ich hoffe, ich werde etliche Zeit bei euch bleiben, so es der HERR zuläßt. |
| Haitian Creole | Fwa sa a, mwen pa vle wè nou anpasan konsa. Mwen ta renmen rete pase kèk tan ak nou, si Bondye vle. |
| Hungarian | Mert nem akarlak titeket épen csak átmenet közben látni, de reménylem, hogy valami ideig nálatok maradok, ha az Úr engedi. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Saya tidak mau mengunjungi kalian sekedar singgah saja. Kalau Tuhan mengizinkan, saya ingin tinggal agak lama dengan kalian. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Maka kali ini aku tiada mau singgah sahaja kepadamu, melainkan aku harap hendak tinggal beberapa lamanya serta kamu, jikalau diizinkan Tuhan. |
| Italian | Non voglio vedervi solo di passaggio, ma spero di trascorrere un po' di tempo con voi, se il Signore lo permetterà. |
| Latvian | Jo es negribu tikai garâm ejot jûs redzçt, bet ceru, ja Kungs atïaus, kâdu laiku palikt pie jums. |
| Maori | E kore hoki ahau e pai kia titiro haere noa ahau i a koutou aianei; e tumanako ana hoki ahau kia whakatau iho ahau ki a koutou, ki te tukua e te Ariki. |
| Norwegian | For jeg tenker ikke å se eder nu på gjennemreisen; for jeg håper å bli nogen tid hos eder, om Herren tillater det. |
| Portuguese | Pois não quero ver-vos desta vez apenas de passagem, antes espero ficar convosco algum tempo, se o Senhor o permitir. |
| Rumanian | De data aceasta nu vreau sq vq vqd kn treacqt, ci trag nqdejde sq mai rqmkn cu voi cktqva vreme, dacq va kngqdui Domnul. |
| Shuar | Aya Wárik nankaamaktinian nakitiajai. Antsu Yus wakerakuinkia Untsurí tsawant atumjai pujustaj tajai. |
| Spanish | Porque ahora no quiero veros de paso, sino que espero quedarme algún tiempo con vosotros, si el Señor lo permite. |
| Swahili | Sipendi kupita kwenu harakaharaka na kuendelea na safari. Natumaini kukaa kwenu kwa kitambo fulani, Bwana akiniruhusu. |
| Swedish | Jag vill icke besöka eder nu strax, på genomresa, ty jag hoppas att någon tid få stanna hos eder, om Herren så tillstädjer. |
| Uma | Uma-a dota mpojolo-wadi mpencuai' -koi. Ane napokono Pue', konoa-ku bona mahae hala' -a mpai' dohe-ni. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Awhile" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Achil, Achili, Aghalee, Ahilo, Ahilya, ahime, ashole, Atholle, awhiles, awhire, awhole, Awiel, ethile, Fadhil, Mahwali, Zakhele. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "awhile" (pronounced uwī"l) |
| 3 | -w ī" l | while, wile, worthwhile, Wyle. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-h-i-l-w" | |
-1 letter: whale, wheal, while. | |
-2 letters: elhi, hail, hale, heal, heil, hila, ilea, lwei, wail, wale, weal, wile. | |
-3 letters: ail, ale, awe, awl, hae, haw, hew, hie, law, lea, lei, lie, wae, wha. | |
-4 letters: ae, ah, ai, al, aw, eh, el, ha, he, hi, la, li, we. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-h-i-l-w" | |
+2 letters: hawklike. | |
+3 letters: lowlihead, meanwhile, wealthier, wealthily, weighable, whalelike, whitetail, whitewall. | |
+4 letters: chainwheel, lowliheads, meanwhiles, shadowlike, switchable, wealthiest, wheelchair, whiplashes, whitetails, whitewalls, wraithlike. | |
+5 letters: chainwheels, nightwalker, switchblade, therewithal, wealthiness, wheelchairs, wherewithal, whistleable, wholesaling. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Sounds | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Quotations: Spoken | 13. Usage Frequency 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Bible Trace 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
