Well...

[dr_mabeuse]

What in the world does "well" mean in a sentence like, "Well, it was one of those days." or "Well, I hate to have to tell you this..."

Is it even a part of speech? Or is it just an interjection, like "oh"? Is this a word that conveys an emotion but that has no meaning?

---dr.M.

 

[minsue]

I never really gave it much thought until my now 4 year old neice went through a faze in which she started every single sentence with a thoughtful 'Well...'.

I have no idea what it really is meant to convey. I guess I'll have to start paying attention to when I begin sentences that way.

- Mindy

 

[Singularity]

Its Not Anything

If it isn't a hole in the ground or a state of healthfulness, it is completel calorie-free, word-wise. Like "um", "uh", "like" and all those other useful sound-fillers we all unconsciously use when we have to say something even though we haven't yet figured out what it is we are saying.

Which is, like, um, for most of us, well, frequently.

Use it in dialog to make the pauses and stumbles we actually bleat out sound more realistic, up to a point.


S.

 

[HawaiiBill]

Well, now . . .

In the South and -- as far as I can tell -- elsewhere, the word 'well' has important meaning. When you say, in a conversation, that the moon is green you can expect that if a person
contradicts you he will signal his intent with the word, "Well..."

That means something.The word can mask intensity of opinion about to come. Your friend wouldn't want to be rude and say, "No, it isn't, you lump of flour!" He likes you and doesn't want to hurt your feelings so he signals that a contrary opinion is about to be placed on the table but there is no rancor in the contradiction. If a word is a symbol of an idea -- and it is -- then the use of 'well' in this manner is consistent with that purpose.

"Well, I don't know, but..." only rarely indicates that the speaker doesn't know. It certainly signals that he has an opinion and, more, you're about to hear it.

'Well' is a step up from 'uh' or 'um' in speech. Those sounds have meaning of less translatable form. They signal a pause on its way while the speaker picks the next word or so. 'Uh' means a short pause is coming and 'um' a little longer pause. I don't think those are as effective in writing as 'well' which has a little barb on it with slightly more impact than just clearing your throat. These two little sounds are hard to handle for speech-to-text software code, by the way.

Happy New Year.

 

[snooper]

Re: Well, now . . .

... These two little sounds are hard to handle for speech-to-text software code, by the way...

As are some names; Hermione comes out as Her-my-won in MSReader.

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[HawaiiBill]

Re: My grammatical 2 cents...

[BIf I were to use it in writing, I would limit its use to dialogue rather than the main body of the piece. [/B]

Your two cents spend easily here. Good point.

Well, maybe it could be used in text!

In that sentence, not dialog, it is a change of mind.
Having expressed agreement, another thought
intrudes and, in context, probably adds flavor to the
lines.

 

[McKenna]

.

 

[Guest]

I find myself using this word alot in dialogue and have to go back and edit out some of them. I am from the South. Maybe this is why I put it in there so much?? lol

 

[herecomestherain]

Another 2 cents worth...interestingly enough the word "well" as described by other posters is also used extensively in Italian, my native language. The word "allora" which actually means "then" is used in more or less the same way as "dunque" which means "well". "Allora" serves to convey, well then, now then,well now.
It's amazing how patterns of speech are ingrained in your psyche, when I type the word "allora'' I can hear my father's voice clearly, about to say something important or ask a question of me. You've made me reminisce dr.M