Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - whoever

1. You use whoever to refer to someone when their identity is not yet known. Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job getting the economy back on its feet... Ben, I want whoever’s responsible to come forward. CONJ 2. You use whoever to indicate that the actual identity of the person who does something will not affect a situation. You can have whoever you like to visit you... Everybody who goes into this region, whoever they are, is at risk of being taken hostage. CONJ 3. You use whoever in questions as an emphatic way of saying ‘who’, usually when you are surprised about something. Ridiculous! Whoever suggested such a thing? = who QUEST c darkgreen]emphasis