wherefore

1 of 2

adverb

where·fore ˈ(h)wer-ˌfȯr

Synonyms of wherefore

: for what reason or purpose : why

: therefore

wherefore

2 of 2

noun

: an answer or statement giving an explanation : reason

wants to know the whys and wherefores

Did you know?

Wherefore and Shakespeare

In early English, a number of new words were formed by combining where with a preposition. In such words, where had the meaning of "what" or "which"—hence, wherein ("in what"), whereon ("on what"), and wherefore ("for what"). Although wherefore as an adverb is rarely used today, the noun form, meaning "an answer or statement giving an explanation," survives in the phrase "the whys and wherefores."

Examples of wherefore in a Sentence

Adverb it was getting late, and wherefore we decided to move on Noun demanded to know the whys and wherefores for the decision

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Adverb

The musicians, especially but not exclusively Jerry Garcia, whose death in 1995 only technically ended the Dead, prove remarkably articulate about the why and wherefore of their music and the group mind that created it. —Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024

Noun

For one thing: we are reminded of the American purpose, our whys and wherefores. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 12 Mar. 2025 But none of those 265 pages of wherefores and whereases on the sports authority website are legally binding. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2024 Eschewing cheap shots, McBride favors a careful, winding excavation – reaching into history for the whys and wherefores of his novels’ crowded casts, while delivering whopper stories with electric finales. —Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Oct. 2023 Soccer, though, did not waste time wondering about the whys and wherefores. —Ahmed Al Omran, New York Times, 13 July 2023 The political whys and wherefores are important — and might be left to another piece. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 14 May 2023 As in most of Tim and Eric’s sketch humor, there are few whys and wherefores. —Austin Considine, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2020 Julian Fellowes, a master writer who understands so well all the peculiarities of time and place, manners and historical significance of the whys and wherefores of his fictional inhabitants, is to be applauded. —Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2019 In addition to gleaning the why and wherefore behind America’s foundational document, teenage listeners will meet up with the Declaration of Independence and a roster of seminal Supreme Court decisions. —Louis Bayard, New York Times, 28 May 2018