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.
“The fact that the court rejected wholly unprecedented positions doesn’t signal that it is ready to push back on the president more broadly,” said Pratik Shah, who regularly argues before the court.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
In “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” Monica is unable to love David wholly, despite her choice to activate his imprint feature.
From Salon • Jun. 28, 2026
Nonetheless, as the first chart demonstrates, “investors cannot be wholly comfortable about continuing to buy the stock market today simply because estimated EPS remain strong,” he says.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, SpaceX said the all-stock deal was expected to close in the third quarter and that Cursor would become a wholly owned subsidiary.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
Now I shall be wholly indebted to my daughter-in-law, I thought.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
