noun
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the state of being entire or whole; completeness
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a thing, sum, amount, etc, that is entire; whole; total
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of entirety
1300–50; Middle English enter ( e ) te < Middle French entierete < Latin integritāt- (stem of integritās ). See integer, -ity
Explanation
The noun entirety describes something that is total or complete, like when you eat a pizza in its entirety, leaving not even one slice for other people. The noun entirety comes from the Latin word integritas, meaning “untouched” or “whole.” If a televised football game goes long, the announcers might say, "Your local news will air in its entirely after the game." That means the news will be its normal length, not shortened. If you did your assigned reading in its entirety, it means you completed it, reading every page, not just skipping around.
Vocabulary lists containing entirety
Obama on Race 2008
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Obama's health care law -- NYTimes
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Part 3 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The world economy had consumed nearly as many materials in the previous six years as in the entirety of the 20th century, it said.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
In their January show, Cruz and Stern had to re-create the entirety of “Heated Rivalry” from memory, even though Cruz had only seen a few episodes and Stern had seen none.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
And most of those have been unavailable for its entirety.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Rather than try to learn about the world through the entirety of the internet, one might choose, say, to read five newspaper articles in the morning.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Kalinda doesn’t notice the present for the entirety of the class period with Missus Wilhelmina.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
