ENGLISH
REFERENCE

weller

adj.
C2 Proficiency US //ˈwɛɫɝ// weller

adj. a very old-fashioned way to say 'better'. You might see this in old books or poems, but people do not use it in modern conversation.

adj. an archaic or dialectal comparative form of 'well'. Used in modern English only as a deliberate archaism or within specific regional dialects.


SIMPLE

He hoped the patient would soon be weller.

CONTEXTUAL

The old farmer remarked that his crops were looking weller than they had during the previous dry summer.

COMPLEX

While the author attempted to evoke a sense of nineteenth-century rural life by using terms like 'weller', the choice often struck modern critics as an unnecessary and distracting linguistic affectation.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Usage

Comparative form of 'well'. In standard modern English, 'better' has entirely replaced this form.

Pitfall

I am feeling weller today.I am feeling better today.'Weller' is archaic; 'better' is the only correct comparative form of 'well' in modern standard English.

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