whole

[ hohl ]

/ hoʊl /

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See synonyms for: whole / wholeness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

comprising the full quantity, amount, extent, number, etc., without diminution or exception; entire, full, or total: He ate the whole pie. They ran the whole distance.

containing all the elements properly belonging; complete: We have a whole set of antique china.

undivided; in one piece: to swallow a thing whole.

Mathematics. integral, or not fractional.

not broken, damaged, or impaired; intact: Thankfully, the vase arrived whole.

uninjured or unharmed; sound: He was surprised to find himself whole after the crash.

pertaining to all aspects of human nature, especially one's physical, intellectual, and spiritual development: education for the whole person.

noun

the whole assemblage of parts or elements belonging to a thing; the entire quantity, account, extent, or number: He accepted some of the parts but rejected the whole.

a thing complete in itself, or comprising all its parts or elements.

an assemblage of parts associated or viewed together as one thing; a unitary system.

OTHER WORDS FOR whole

1 undiminished, integral, complete.

5 unimpaired, perfect.

8 totality, aggregate.

See synonyms for whole on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR whole

1 partial.

8 part.

See antonyms for whole on Thesaurus.com

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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.

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Idioms about whole

as a whole, all things included or considered; altogether: As a whole, the relocation seems to have been beneficial.

on / upon the whole,

in view of all the circumstances; after consideration.
disregarding exceptions; in general: On the whole, the neighborhood is improving.

out of whole cloth, without foundation in fact; fictitious: a story made out of whole cloth.

Origin of whole

First recorded before 900; Middle English hole, hool (adjective and noun), Old English hāl (adjective); cognate with Dutch heel,German heil,Old Norse heill;see hale¹, heal; spelling with w reflects dialect form

synonym study for whole

8. Whole, total mean the entire or complete sum or amount. The whole is all there is; every part, member, aspect; the complete sum, amount, quantity of anything, not divided; the entirety: the whole of one's property, family. Total also means whole, complete amount, or number, but conveys the idea of something added together or added up: The total of their gains amounted to millions.

OTHER WORDS FROM whole

wholeness, nounself-whole, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH whole

hole, whole

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

How to use whole in a sentence

It is against their wholeness that the incomplete impressions of the recent past or present are juxtaposed.
Resurrecting Afghanistan: Khaled Hosseini’s ‘And the Mountains Echoed’|Rafia Zakaria|May 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
What has been grossly overlooked throughout age immemorial is that both aspects need each other for wholeness!
Alanis Morissette On Why America Must Embrace the Feminine|Alanis Morissette|November 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“Where there is no desire or pursuit, there is no wholeness, but there are satisfactory lesser states, fragments,” Vidal wrote.
Gore Vidal’s Great Love, Baseball Prodigy James Trimble|Michael Daly|August 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And nothing short of this consciousness of Perfect Wholeness can satisfy us.
The Hidden Power|Thomas Troward

This wholeness, this finish which does not hurt the harmony of the proportions, is a precious quality, very rare in our time.
Contemporary Russian Novelists|Serge Persky
Not another word in that direction as you value the wholeness of your skin.
The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer|Richard Clynton
Being complementary means that each supplies what is wanting in the other, and that the two together thus make complete wholeness.
The Creative Process in the Individual|Thomas Troward
Think of the four last gifts of Frœbel in their wholeness of form, as cubes.
Education in The Home, The Kindergarten, and The Primary School|Elizabeth P. Peabody

British Dictionary definitions for whole

whole

/ (həʊl) /

adjective

containing all the component parts necessary to form a total; completea whole apple

constituting the full quantity, extent, etc

uninjured or undamaged

healthy

having no fractional or decimal part; integrala whole number

of, relating to, or designating a relationship established by descent from the same parents; fullwhole brothers

out of whole cloth US and Canadian informal entirely without a factual basis

adverb

in an undivided or unbroken pieceto swallow a plum whole

noun

all the parts, elements, etc, of a thing

an assemblage of parts viewed together as a unit

a thing complete in itself

as a whole considered altogether; completely

on the whole

taking all things into consideration
in general

Derived forms of whole

wholeness, noun

Word Origin for whole

Old English hāl, hǣl; related to Old Frisian hāl, hēl, Old High German heil, Gothic hails; compare hale 1

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with whole

whole

In addition to the idioms beginning with whole

whole ball of wax, the
whole hog
whole kit and caboodle, the
whole megillah
whole new ballgame, a
whole nine yards, the
whole shebang

also see:

as a whole
go whole hog
on the whole
out of whole cloth

whole

OTHER WORDS FOR whole

OPPOSITES FOR whole

Idioms about whole

Origin of whole

synonym study for whole

OTHER WORDS FROM whole

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH whole

Words related to whole

How to use whole in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for whole

Derived forms of whole

Word Origin for whole

Other Idioms and Phrases with whole