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.
See Examples For:
"At this stage, the fire is now under control in its entirety and should no longer spread," barring a major change in weather conditions or other unforeseen factors, said the local governor's office.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
That is low by historical standards; in lean years the majority, or even the entirety, of the sector's profits have been accounted for by subsidy.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
If Elon Musk helped pay down the debt by sacrificing the entirety of his nearly $1 trillion net worth—itself a mind-boggling sum—it would barely make a dent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Wilson considered the entirety of Homer’s tale and decided the right word for polytropos was “complicated.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
He was a regular visitor who read the labels and descriptive notices in their entirety and approved of every animal he saw.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
In the same life, all the way through the balance of her teens and the entireties of her 20s and 30s, it figures she’s loath to use the word “retirement.”
From Washington Post ● Aug. 10, 2022
Richard was one who would always deal with entireties, being capable of no divisions nor subtleties of praise or blame.
From Madelon A Novel by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
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.
