however

UK/haʊˈɛvə/US/haʊˈɛvɚ/

adverbA12 meanings Very common — you will meet it every day · #829 of 15,258mostly written

However means all the same, despite what has just been said. However, it failed, however hard he tried, however you like.

As a connector it needs a full stop or a semicolon before it — joining two sentences with a comma and however is the commonest punctuation fault in English. It also means to whatever degree: however hard he tried. Note whatever and whenever, built with the same -ever, which generalises what it attaches to.

Definitions of however

1adverbhoweverAll the same; despite what has just been said.A1
“The hotel was expensive; however, the view from our room was worth every penny.”
2adverbwhateverTo whatever degree.B2
“However hard he tried, he couldn't open the jar.”

Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.

however is a connecting word.

Where it comes from

How plus -ever, a Middle English compound. Whatever, whenever and whoever are built the same way.

Middle English
however
English, today
however

From Middle English however, how-ever, how-evere; equivalent to how + -ever. Compare howsoever.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

however in the wild

Historically, however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention.
House of Commons of Canada
Increasingly, however, the unwieldy presidencies were broken up into "Provinces".
Presidencies and provinces of British India
The orbit of this comet passes close to the planet Jupiter however it orbit changes frequently.
37P/Forbes
For practical purposes time zones are usually based on territorial claims; however, the time zone of their supply base is often utilised.
Time in Antarctica
The term is, however, used in some textbooks.
Thermal energy

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Definitions of however

1adverbhoweverAll the same; despite what has just been said.A1

“The hotel was expensive; however, the view from our room was worth every penny.”

2adverbwhateverTo whatever degree.B2

“However hard he tried, he couldn't open the jar.”

Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.

however is a connecting word.