totality

[ toh-tal-i-tee ]

/ toʊˈtæl ɪ ti /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for totality on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural to·tal·i·ties.

something that is total or constitutes a total; the total amount; a whole.

the state of being total; entirety.

Astronomy. total obscuration in an eclipse.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of totality

First recorded in 1590–1600; total + -ity

Words nearby totality

totalism, totalistic, totalitarian, totalitarianism, totalitarianize, totality, totalizator, totalize, totalizer, totally, totally ordered set

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use totality in a sentence

This may sound like many games, but it doesn’t encompass the totality of what video games can offer.
Video games deserve better than blanket, parachute coverage from reporters who don’t get it|Gene Park|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
Taken in totality, Google’s recent announcements on its expanding use of natural language understanding algorithms represent a major evolution in how it determines what content gets surfaced in the search results.
What passage indexing and natural language processing mean for the future of SEO|George Nguyen|October 27, 2020|Search Engine Land
It’s mind-boggling in the totality of ambition to so deeply undermine what’s so vitally important to the public.
Inside the Fall of the CDC|by James Bandler, Patricia Callahan, Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg|October 15, 2020|ProPublica
The metrics are meant to be evaluated in their totality, he said.
The County Is Rethinking a Major Coronavirus Trigger|Will Huntsberry|September 9, 2020|Voice of San Diego

Many others, she guessed, didn’t know the totality of the QAnon beliefs, or even that the reason they were being exposed to the conspiracy theory was its vast social-media network.
Evangelicals are looking for answers online. They’re finding QAnon instead.|Abby Ohlheiser|August 26, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In any case, culling a manageable array from the totality of splendid volumes has with each year become more difficult.
The Best Coffee Table Books of 2014|Robert Birnbaum|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the case of Darren Sharper we will see how the courts and public perceptions treat his totality.
Can Darren Sharper Beat His Rape Rap With the Kobe Defense?|Eboni K. Williams|March 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From that limited contact he imagines the totality of their life together, every touch, glimpse, insecurity, and kindness.
This Week’s Hot Reads: ‘The Bridge of Beyond,’ ‘The Virgins,’ ‘Holy Orders’|Sarah Stodola|August 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Given this totality, public distrust of Washington should come as no surprise.
The Sprawling, Dimming Age of Obama|Lloyd Green|June 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
How do we capture the totality of the thing in a handful of words?
Fire and Forget: After Homecoming, Veterans Collect Stories of War|Roy Scranton|November 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The totality of his impressions washed through him with a clear wave of icy shock.
Insidekick|Jesse Franklin Bone
Each of them remains one, such as it was; but two can be asserted of their totality, and one of each of them separately.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3|Plotinos (Plotinus)
If the body be the composite of all the qualities together with matter, this totality of qualities will constitute corporeity.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3|Plotinos (Plotinus)
All these organs, however, are implied in the unity of the animal, and they are inferior only relatively to the totality.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3|Plotinos (Plotinus)
The totality (of the intelligible world) is beautiful, because what is common (to all beings), does not offer any differences.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 3|Plotinos (Plotinus)

British Dictionary definitions for totality

totality

/ (təʊˈtælɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the whole amount

the state of being total

the state or period of an eclipse when light from the eclipsed body is totally obscured

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

totality

Origin of totality

Words nearby totality

Words related to totality

How to use totality in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for totality