altogether

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

adverb

1. wholly; entirely; completely; quite.

   altogether fitting.

   Synonyms: absolutely, totally, utterly

2. with all or everything included.

   The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.

3. with everything considered; on the whole.

   Altogether, I'm glad it's over.

altogether

/ ˌɔːltəˈɡɛðə, ˈɔːltəˌɡɛðə /

adverb

1. with everything included

   altogether he owed me sixty pounds

2. completely; utterly; totally

   he was altogether mad

3. on the whole

   altogether it was a very good party

noun

1. informal,  naked

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of altogether¹

First recorded in 1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder; all, together

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the altogether, nude.

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

Example Sentences

Many schools across the country have abandoned vaccine mandates, while some states have restricted them altogether.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He recalls struggling with the question of whether a Catholic judge could uphold a constitutional right to abortion or should instead resign altogether.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In 2011, the main channel abandoned music videos altogether, pushing all music programming to its sister stations, with the exception of the annual MTV European Music Awards.

Read more on BBC

As they grew up, they dropped N|uu altogether, speaking only Afrikaans.

Read more on Barron's

Perhaps even more worrying for patients, since some high precision medical devices are made only in Switzerland, is the possibility that Swiss companies will stop exporting to the US altogether.

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Related Words

• absolutely 
• fully 
• perfectly 
• quite 
• thoroughly 
• totally 
• utterly 
• wholly