Question always, nevertheless (7)
I believe the answer is:
however
'nevertheless' is the definition.
(I know that nevertheless can be written as however)
'question always' is the wordplay.
'question' becomes 'how' (how is a question word).
'always' becomes 'ever' (synonyms).
'how'+'ever'='HOWEVER'
(Other definitions for however that I've seen before include "Though" , "In whatever way" , "Notwithstanding" , "On the other hand" , "at all events" .)