as in therefore
for this or that reason
it was getting late, and wherefore we decided to move on
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in reason
something (as a belief) that serves as the basis for another thing
demanded to know the whys and wherefores for the decision
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wherefore
Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2024
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wherefore
Adverb
-
Tech experts often warn that AI chatbots don’t think for themselves — and therefore can sometimes spout false information.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The addition of radar is therefore a key development.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The reason many of the remaining adults on Medicaid are not working is that they are retired, serving as a caregiver, or too sick, KFF has found.—
Samantha Liss,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Humans are in the loop for a reason.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
In the course of the narrative, as John is embraced by friends and assaulted by strangers, Jones’s storytelling veers between breakthroughs and setbacks with a rhythm so mechanical as to verge on metronomic.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The body was so badly decomposed that the deceased’s gender could not be determined, said police.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Searching for a reason The time since, with no other winners in the city, has left plenty of room for those in the business to guess at a why.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Every character is fully developed and has a why, and every backstory is so rich.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Boston has had just two days in the 70s thus far and inland locations (away from sea breezes) a few more.—
Terry Eliasen,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Scientists usually expect the central bulges of elliptical galaxies to form rapidly and thus be dominated by low-mass stars.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The motive for the attack remains unclear.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
The motive for the shooting was unclear.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Plans for the museum eventually were combined with a parallel effort to move the state history museum from the Capitol grounds, with the complex opening in 2017.—
Gary Fields,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
-
This, and the hospital’s security, had been a point of contention in recent years after a number of assaults on staff and forensic patients (usually kept there through the courts) escaping the hospital grounds, requiring a police response.—
Peter Currier,
Boston Herald,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wherefore.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wherefore. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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