wholly
Americanadverb
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entirely; totally; altogether; quite.
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to the whole amount, extent, etc.
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so as to comprise or involve all.
adverb
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completely, totally, or entirely
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without exception; exclusively
Etymology
Origin of wholly
First recorded in 1250–1300, wholly is from the Middle English word holliche. See whole, -ly
Explanation
Wholly is an adverb that means "entirely." If a story is wholly inaccurate, no part of it is true. Do you like to do things the whole way or whole hog, refusing any halfhearted attempts? Then wholly is your kind of word — it means completely, totally, or to the full extent. To give yourself over wholly to the music at a concert means that you are focused exclusively on the experience. If you're wholly committed to a goal, you're going to give it 100% of your time and energy.
Vocabulary lists containing wholly
ACT Vocabulary List
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
They could no longer support the project, they said, because they couldn’t verify that the book had been wholly written by their client.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Some of the tariff effect has shown up in higher retail prices for foreign goods or domestic goods made wholly or partially from tariffed imported parts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
In a statement, it added: "The fact that dog food was mistakenly provided was wholly unacceptable."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Griffin in turn filed a defamation suit, claiming the woman’s account was wholly false and lambasting the New York Times’ reporting as a “fishing expedition aimed at smearing” her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
It was heady, draining, and wholly new to me.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
