wholeness

American  

[hohl-nis] / ˈhoʊl nɪs /

noun

1. soundness, health, or well-being in body, mind, soul, or spirit.

   Shalom is a sense of contentment, wholeness, and harmony.

2. the state or condition of being not broken, injured, or damaged; intact condition.

   It may help to maintain the durability and wholeness of your roof if you have an expert roofing contractor look at it every few years.

3. the state of including the full amount or extent of something, or all parts of something, with nothing missing.

   In this beautiful 18-karat rose-gold ring, the flower appears in all its wholeness, with stem, leaf, and blossom.

4. the state or condition of being in one piece, without separation of parts.

   Recognizing event, author, text, and reader, we see the narrative work in all its indivisible wholeness, while also understanding the diverse elements that make it up.

---

Etymology

Origin of wholeness

First recorded before 1000; whole ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

"They're getting that confidence, that self-assurance, they're getting that wholeness from themselves, and that's ultimately what's the most empowering."

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

“That’s because over time, any expression of any one local action gets stitched together and gives us our sense of conscious wholeness that we all experience.”

From Salon • May 26, 2025

Meeting all of these needs is required for full health, full wholeness.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2025

Buzzing with the high of a collective response, with the feeling of wholeness.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2025

Sometimes, like now, he felt like an intruder in his new circle, of people who believed that the latest schools, the latest curriculums, would ensure the wholeness of their children.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie