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
Confining a world-famous pop star to a blustery old house in the English countryside for the entirety of a film seems inharmonious.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
Amazon sells his albums digitally in their entirety.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
The 22-year-old returned to fitness in time for the Ashes tour, but was ignored by England for the entirety of their 4-1 defeat.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
The actual affair may not have lasted as long as the opera itself, its incredible five- and-a-half-hour length being one of the many obstacles to its being mounted in its entirety during Berlioz’s lifetime.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
