altogether

[awl-tuh-geth -er, awl-tuh-geth-er]

See more synonyms for altogether on Thesaurus.com

adverb

wholly; entirely; completely; quite: altogether fitting.
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

in the altogether, Informal. nude: When the phone rang she had just stepped out of the bathtub and was in the altogether.

Origin of altogether

1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder. See all, together

Synonyms

See more synonyms for altogether on Thesaurus.com

1. utterly, totally, absolutely.

Usage note

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. This all can be omitted without seriously affecting the meaning: The children were together in the kitchen.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for altogether

Contemporary Examples

Still other people have moved away from the word “diet” altogether.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail
Carrie Arnold
December 30, 2014
First, bubonic (rhymes with pneumonic but is altogether different) is a local infection sequestered in a lymph node.
Bubonic Plague Is Back (but It Never Really Left)
Kent Sepkowitz
November 27, 2014
“Sixty-five years altogether,” she pointed out with a laugh.
Freedom From Fear for Dreamer Kids
Mike Barnicle
November 24, 2014
So, just a week into a new pack of Microgestin, I stop taking them altogether.
Birth Control Made My Hair Fall Out, and I’m Not the Only One
Molly Oswaks
October 14, 2014
Altogether, more than 5,000 energy-related companies call Houston home.
Battle of the Upstarts: Houston vs. San Francisco Bay
Joel Kotkin
October 5, 2014

Historical Examples

There was a scar on one cheek, and, altogether, he was not very prepossessing in his appearance.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Still the country was much improved, and not altogether unknown.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
The natives met with were friendly, but to us altogether unintelligible.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
She was thus extremely unreasonable and altogether charming.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Perhaps the quiet of his boy had not been altogether the quiet of cowardice.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand

British Dictionary definitions for altogether

altogether

adverb

with everything includedaltogether he owed me sixty pounds
completely; utterly; totallyhe was altogether mad
on the wholealtogether it was a very good party

noun

in the altogether informal naked

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for altogether

early 13c., altogedere, a strengthened form of all (also see together); used in the sense of "a whole" from 1660s. The altogether "nude" is from 1894.

altogether

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}altogether

Synonyms

Usage note

Examples from the Web for altogether

Contemporary Examples

Still other people have moved away from the word “diet” altogether.

First, bubonic (rhymes with pneumonic but is altogether different) is a local infection sequestered in a lymph node.

“Sixty-five years altogether,” she pointed out with a laugh.

So, just a week into a new pack of Microgestin, I stop taking them altogether.

Altogether, more than 5,000 energy-related companies call Houston home.

Historical Examples

There was a scar on one cheek, and, altogether, he was not very prepossessing in his appearance.

Still the country was much improved, and not altogether unknown.

The natives met with were friendly, but to us altogether unintelligible.

She was thus extremely unreasonable and altogether charming.

Perhaps the quiet of his boy had not been altogether the quiet of cowardice.

altogether

Word Origin and History for altogether

Origin of altogether