很 walked a crooked road to 'very': with the step radical 彳 and stubborn 艮, it first meant defiant, unyielding — related to 狠 'ruthless'. Grammar tamed the fierce word into an intensifier: modern 很 mostly just turns the volume up.
Chinese adjectives feel naked without 很: you say 我很好 'I'm (very) good' even when nothing is very anything — the 很 is grammatical glue, not emphasis. Learners who drop it sound abrupt; learners who stress it sound enthusiastic. Native speakers do neither and both.
Walking 彳 with stubborn 艮 insistence — VERY determined.
很 is the most common 'empty' intensifier: 我很好 usually just means 'I'm fine' — the 很 carries politeness, not degree.