altogether
Americanadverb
-
wholly; entirely; completely; quite.
altogether fitting.
- Synonyms:
- absolutely, totally, utterly
-
with all or everything included.
The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.
-
with everything considered; on the whole.
Altogether, I'm glad it's over.
idioms
adverb
-
with everything included
altogether he owed me sixty pounds
-
completely; utterly; totally
he was altogether mad
-
on the whole
altogether it was a very good party
noun
Commonly Confused
The forms altogether and all together, though often indistinguishable in speech, are distinct in meaning. The adverb altogether means “wholly, entirely, completely”: an altogether confused scene. The phrase all together means “in a group”: The children were all together in the kitchen. The word all can be omitted without seriously affecting the meaning: The children were together in the kitchen.
Etymology
Origin of altogether
First recorded in 1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder; all, together
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.
And it was as if Leah, along with Maria, Elizabeth, and David, had grown up in a different family altogether.
From Literature
In other words, investors tend to rotate out of chip makers altogether, instead of jumping from one to another.
From Barron's
Osborne and Ribeiro-Addy were among several Labour MPs who said they backed scrapping tuition fees altogether to boost social mobility and make higher education more accessible.
From BBC
Hibernation would mean missing out on winter altogether and not having the opportunity to partake of all the things he loved about it.
From Literature
Mama was so interested in my torn clothes she ignored my plea altogether.
From Literature
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.
