[Idiom] 'the very (idea/thought ...)'

[Olympian]

Hello,

'<name-of-website> stems from the very idea to connect all people'
​

Does the word 'very' add something useful here? or is it same as saying '<name-of-website> stems from the idea to connect all people'?

What does 'the very' mean here? Sometimes we see 'The very thought of talking to him makes me uneasy'. Is it different from 'The thought of talking to him makes me uneasy'?

Thank you

 

[sunsunmoon]

very
[only before noun]
used to emphasize a noun
The very thought of drink made him feel sick.
’I can't do that!’ she gasped, appalled at the very idea.

 

[Raymott]

Hello,

'<name-of-website> stems from the very idea to connect all people'
​

Does the word 'very' add something useful here? or is it same as saying '<name-of-website> stems from the idea to connect all people'?

What does 'the very' mean here? Sometimes we see 'The very thought of talking to him makes me uneasy'. Is it different from 'The thought of talking to him makes me uneasy'?

Thank you

Simple. Unless there's some context prior to that sentence that warrants it, it's wrong.
"Often, ideas float around about how to connect people. Our website stems from this very idea of connecting all people." - This would make sense.
(Why connecting all people on one website is thought to be a possible or even a worthy goal eludes me though).

 

[BobK]

:up: The 'writer' simply doesn't know how to use the phrase 'the very thought'. But Ray's first word - perhaps intentionally - seems to be what 'very' is supposed to mean here.

b

 

[JTRiff]

Actually, 'The very idea!" is an acceptable exclamation all on it's own.


teacher a not

 

[Olympian]

Thank you all for your responses.

Simple. Unless there's some context prior to that sentence that warrants it, it's wrong.
"Often, ideas float around about how to connect people. Our website stems from this very idea of connecting all people." - This would make sense.
(Why connecting all people on one website is thought to be a possible or even a worthy goal eludes me though).

The context prior to the sentence is that we have moved to different cities or even different parts of the world but our hearts are with the places of our origin. (paraphrased) The idea is to connect all (such/these) people with their places of origin using this website.

I also don't know why connecting all (such) people is thought to be possible or a worthy goal. :-D:-D

 

[Olympian]

:up: The 'writer' simply doesn't know how to use the phrase 'the very thought'. But Ray's first word - perhaps intentionally - seems to be what 'very' is supposed to mean here.

b

@BobK, sorry I did not understand. Are you referring to 'the very thought of drinking' or 'the very thought of talking to him'? Are both of these sentences wrong?

 

[BobK]

@BobK, sorry I did not understand. Are you referring to 'the very thought of drinking' or 'the very thought of talking to him'? Are both of these sentences wrong?

They're not sentences, but could be used to express fear/loathing/dismay/contempt... (more or less any emotion, as long as it's negative). That 'so long as it's negative' rule-of-thumb works for 'the very thought' generally, although sometimes the emotion expressed is positive but the attitude to it is negative: 'The very thought of loving her - it makes my fresh crawl just to think of it'.

b