holistic
Americanadjective
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incorporating the concept of holism, or the idea that the whole is more than merely the sum of its parts, in theory or practice.
holistic psychology.
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Medicine/Medical. of or relating to a form of medicine, such as chiropractic or naturopathy, concerned with the care of the entire person in all aspects of well-being, including the physical, psychological, and social, rather than with diseases and symptoms in isolation, and often using natural or traditional remedies: Her holistic practitioner prescribed dietary changes and some relaxation exercises to reduce the frequency of her migraines.
Someholistic medicine draws on traditional herbal preparations to maintain the health of different organs of the body.
Her holistic practitioner prescribed dietary changes and some relaxation exercises to reduce the frequency of her migraines.
adjective
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of or relating to a doctrine of holism
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of or relating to the the medical consideration of the complete person, physically and psychologically, in the treatment of a disease
Usage
What does holistic mean? Holistic is an adjective that describes things related to the idea that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. In other words, that the entirety of something must be considered instead of just considering its parts. This philosophy is called holism, and that’s where the word holistic comes from. Holistic can be used generally to describe approaches that incorporate elements of holism, but it is especially used in the contexts of psychology and alternative medicine. Example: Chiropractors often take a holistic approach to treating injuries by considering the entire body instead of just the affected area.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of holistic
Explanation
Holistic means encompassing the whole of a thing, and not just the part. Holistic medicine looks at the whole person for answers, not just at physical symptoms. You might have heard of holistic medicine, which tries to treat someone as mind and body, instead of treating only the part of the patient that is most sick. People often talk about holism in relation to healing, whether of bodies or other things. A holistic approach to solving a labor dispute would take into consideration the needs of both the workers and the factory owners.
Vocabulary lists containing holistic
Internment
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Mexican WhiteBoy
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"Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry" by Rudolfo Anaya
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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.
"We are trying to understand how you can have such a high level of specialization between these different blocks, yet always have a consistent holistic outcome," Javadzadeh says.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
The best financial advisers for retirees provide a holistic plan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
“We are not trying to build a single robot. We are trying to build a holistic physical AI infrastructure.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
"It's good across our holistic health spectrum, good physically, cognitively, socially, psychologically and emotionally," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The holistic nature of these highly integrated approaches, is still conducive today for implementation in an integrated arts program.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
