wherewithal
wherewithal
Pronunciation
IPA Phonetic Spelling
The standard IPA phonetic spelling for 'wherewithal' is typically:
(US) /ˈwɛərwɪðˌɔl/
(UK) /ˈwɛəwɪðˌɔːl/
🎼 Syllable Breakdown
The word 'wherewithal' has three syllables:
1st Syllable: where (or /wɛər/ /wɛə/)
Sounds: /w/ (as in we) + /ɛər/ or /ɛə/ (as in hair)
2nd Syllable: with (or /wɪð/)
Sounds: /w/ (as in win) + /ɪ/ (as in it) + /ð/ (as in this)
3rd Syllable: all (or /ˌɔl/ /ˌɔːl/)
Sounds: /ɔl/ or /ɔːl/ (as in awl)
Word Form Variations
The term 'wherewithal' is predominantly used as a mass noun (uncountable noun). As such, it generally does not have a plural form when used in its modern sense of necessary means/resources.
Singular (Mass Noun): wherewithal
Plural (Mass Noun): N/A (It is not typically pluralized.)
Note on Archaic Use: In some older or very rare uses, primarily as a pronoun or adverb, the forms 'wherewith' and 'wherewithal' were interchangeable.
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition 1 (Financial Means): The necessary financial assets, funds, or capital required to accomplish a goal, complete a project, or sustain an action.
Synonyms: funds, money, capital, cash, financing, assets, purse, bankroll.
Antonyms: liabilities, debts, deficits, paucity, insolvency, penury.
Definition 2 (Capability/Resources): The essential non-monetary capacity, resources, or ability—such as emotional strength, skill, or ingenuity—needed to succeed in a particular effort or task.
Synonyms: means, capability, capacity, resources, competence, ability, know-how.
Antonyms: incapacity, inability, incompetence, deficiency, lack, inadequacy.
Examples of Use
📰 Newspapers and Online Publications (Focus on Financial/Resources)
Financial Resources (Online News): "Newspapers that generate the most revenue from print often find their resources for journalism disappearing faster than new media can develop them, making it difficult to maintain the financial wherewithal to support original public-interest reporting." (Princeton University, March 2009)
Organizational Funding (Bar Association): "But that sort of investigative journalism requires the financial wherewithal to withstand the legal challenges that arise when a local news organization has to sue to obtain public records." (New York State Bar Association, December 2019)
Personal Finance (Online Article): "If you don't have the wherewithal, see if your work offers free financial counseling sessions." (Dictionary.com)
📚 Books and Literature (Focus on Ability/Means)
Social Capability (Non-Fiction Book): "In Los Angeles and Oakland, it became a status symbol to have the wherewithal to take in roomers, suggesting a degree of social and economic stability." (Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns, 2010)
Emotional Strength (Literary Studies): "Reading groups can offer women both support and the wherewithal to explore their identity and negotiate its complexities over time." (University of Chicago Press, Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life)
Mental Capacity (Public Discourse/Interview): Speaking on the themes of his novel Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace stated, "The question is whether U.S. citizens have the wherewithal to keep from entertaining themselves to death or not," referring to the mental and spiritual capacity for self-control. (Tony Reinke, March 2018)
🗣️ General Public Discourse and Entertainment Platforms
Political Will (Academic Journal): "Such coverage, in conjunction with individual political and cultural considerations, shapes public attitudes and the political wherewithal to enact policies to reduce gun violence." (NIH, March 2018)
Professional Skill (Legal Industry Blog): "And whenever people do have the financial wherewithal, I think they should consider giving back by helping to fund scholarships." (UCLA Law, July 2025)
Industry Control (Academic Essay): "Typical of any economy, media economy is also dominated by the people who command the wherewithal to control how the activities of media professionals are carried out." (Global Journal of Human-Social Science, 2014)
10 Famous Quotes Using Wherewithal
"Northumberland, thou ladder wherewithal the mounting Bolingbroke ascends my throne." (William Shakespeare, Richard II)
"Nothing consumes itself so much as generosity, because while you practise it you're losing the wherewithal to go on practising it." (Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince)
"Pay your own reckoning, but do not treat the whole company; this being one of the few cases in which people do not care to be treated, every one being fully convinced that he has wherewithal to pay." (Lord Chesterfield, Letters to His Son)
"And what is practice without theory, but the employment of means without knowing how or why they act? (Jean-Baptiste Say, A Treatise on Political Economy)
"Whosoever becomes prince of a city or State, more especially if his position be so insecure that he cannot resort to constitutional government either in the form of a republic or a monarchy, will find that the best way to preserve his princedom is to renew the whole institutions of that State; that is to say, to create a new wherewithal." (Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince)
"He shows he is foolish by how he spends all of his money on books, yet the generosity of others is indicated in the line: 'Of those who gave him wherewithal for schools.'" (Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales)
"There is a loneliness that can be rocked... To me, that wherewithal seemed as essential as the ability to write imaginatively in the first place." (Toni Morrison, quoted in an essay on writing)
"It would seem to me, I mean, at some point in the next 10 or 15 years we're going to have virtual reality pornography... it's not clear to me that we, as a culture, are teaching ourselves or our children what we're going to say 'yes' and 'no' to, or the wherewithal to choose." (David Foster Wallace, Interview on Entertainment Culture, March 2018)
"But there are some [opportunities] that were brought about only because you are the person you are, you have the wherewithal, intelligence, and energy to recognize it and do something with it.” (Helen Frankenthaler)
"If heaven be pleased to give him wherewithal, and to us so much wisdom as to employ it well, his improvement will be very rapid." (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice)
Etymology
The word wherewithal is essentially a three-part compound word built from very old English parts.
"Where" (from Old English hwær)
"With" (from Old English wiþ)
"Al" (or "All")
First Known Use and Meaning
The full term "wherewithal" first appeared in the English language around the mid-16th century (specifically cited as 1534 or 1535).
Original Meaning (Conjunction/Adverb): Its earliest use was as an adverb or conjunction meaning "with which," or "by what means." It functioned as an elaborate, slightly archaic version of the simple word wherewith.
How It Evolved
The word developed from the older, shorter word "wherewith" (meaning "with what or which"), and the final -al was added from the adverb "withal," which meant "in addition" or "besides."
Think of the older, literal construction as:
"Where" (what) + "with" + "all"
This literal phrasing led to a focus on the idea of having everything necessary.
Over time, this combined term started being used as a noun, especially in phrases like: "He has the wherewithal to do it." By the early 19th century (around 1809), the word completed its shift to become a common noun specifically meaning "the necessary means, resources, or supplies (especially money)"—which is its primary meaning today.
In short, it went from a question word meaning "with what?" to a noun meaning "that which is needed."
Phrases + Idioms Containing Wherewithal
Have the wherewithal
Meaning: This is the most common, fixed phrase. It means to possess the necessary resources, financial means, or ability to do something.
Example: "The company simply didn't have the wherewithal to launch a national campaign."
Lack the wherewithal
Meaning: To not possess the required resources or ability. This is the phrase's most frequent negative usage.
Example: "Many small start-ups lack the wherewithal to weather a market crash."
Find the wherewithal
Meaning: To gather or muster the necessary resources (often emotional strength or resolve) after a period of doubt or difficulty.
Example: "After his setback, he struggled to find the wherewithal to try again."
The financial wherewithal
Meaning: A common, slightly redundant phrase used to emphasize that the means being discussed are specifically money or capital.
Example: "Obtaining the new factory required significant financial wherewithal."
Related Idioms Using Synonyms (Similar Effect)
These idioms use common synonyms like means or resources to convey the same general concept of having what is needed:
Cut the purse strings
Meaning: To stop providing the financial means or funding (wherewithal) to someone or something.
Example: "The investors threatened to cut the purse strings if the project didn't show profit."
Living beyond one's means
Meaning: Spending more money than one has the financial wherewithal to support.
By hook or by crook
Meaning: To do something using any method possible, suggesting the resourceful gathering of the necessary means (wherewithal).
Pull resources
Meaning: To combine the means (wherewithal) or assets of multiple people or groups to achieve a common goal.
To be financially well-heeled
Meaning: To have a great deal of financial wherewithal (to be wealthy).
The tools of the trade
Meaning: The necessary equipment, skills, or means (wherewithal) needed to perform a job effectively.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of wherewithal from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
