whole

¹whole

adj \ˈhōl\

Definition of WHOLE

1

a (1) : free of wound or injury : unhurt (2) : recovered from a wound or injury : restored (3) : being healed <whole of an ancient evil, I sleep sound — A. E. Housman> b : free of defect or impairment : intact c : physically sound and healthy : free of disease or deformity d : mentally or emotionally sound

2

: having all its proper parts or components : complete, unmodified <whole milk> <a whole egg>

3

a : constituting the total sum or undiminished entirety : entire <owns the whole island> b : each or all of the <took part in the whole series of athletic events>

4

a : constituting an undivided unit : unbroken, uncut <a whole roast suckling pig> b : directed to one end : concentrated <your whole attention>

5

a : seemingly complete or total <the whole idea is to help, not hinder> b : very great in quantity, extent, or scope <feels a whole lot better now>

6

: constituting the entirety of a person's nature or development <educate the whole student>

7

: having the same father and mother <whole brother>

— whole·ness noun

Examples of WHOLE

1. The doctor assured me that the whole procedure would only take a few minutes.
2. The whole place was remodeled. It looks great now.
3. It's been a whole week since I've seen him.
4. I spent the whole summer traveling through Europe.
5. The whole evening was a great success.
6. She read the whole book in one day.
7. I've been waiting my whole life for this.
8. We decided to forget the whole thing.
9. We cooked a whole chicken.
10. The community center offers a whole range of programs.

Origin of WHOLE

Middle English hool healthy, unhurt, entire, from Old English hāl; akin to Old High German heil healthy, unhurt, Old Norse heill, Old Church Slavic cělŭ

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to WHOLE

Synonyms: all, concentrated, entire, exclusive, focused (also focussed), undivided

Antonyms: diffuse, divided, scattered

Related Words: absolute, complete, full, lump, teetotal, thorough, total, unadulterated, unalloyed, unqualified, utter; comprehensive, intact, integral, perfect, unbroken

Near Antonyms: deficient, fragmental, fragmentary, halfway, incomplete, partial

see all synonyms and antonyms

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See Synonym Discussion at perfect

Synonym Discussion of WHOLE

whole, entire, total, all mean including everything or everyone without exception. whole implies that nothing has been omitted, ignored, abated, or taken away <read the whole book>. entire may suggest a state of completeness or perfection to which nothing can be added <the entire population was wiped out>. total implies that everything has been counted, weighed, measured, or considered <the total number of people present>. all may equal whole, entire, or total <all proceeds go to charity>.

Rhymes with WHOLE

bole, boll, bowl, coal, cole, Cole, dhole, dole, droll, foal, goal, hole, knoll, kohl, Kohl, mole, ole, pole, poll, prole, role, roll, scroll, Seoul, shoal, skoal, sol, sole, soul, stole, stroll, thole, tole, toll, troll, vole