entirety

noun

plural entireties
1
: the state of being entire or complete
2

Examples of entirety in a Sentence

the entirety of an estate I wish that I could find a card for Valentine's Day that expresses the entirety of my love.
Recent Examples on the Web The initial hostages released will likely not include the entirety of women and children being held hostage. Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 22 Nov. 2023 In the future, the redesign at the basin will raise the sea wall to 4.75 feet, which will prevent beavers from climbing ashore around its entirety. Kevin Ambrose, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 Sent home from school alone, frightened and attached to the TV, the day unfolded before me that even by today's standards was too much, too fast and too sad to grasp the entirety of what went down. Jacquelynn Lueth, CBS News, 15 Nov. 2023 Topline Pfizer shares tumbled again Monday, continuing the pharmaceutical giant’s struggles tied to declining demand for its Covid-19 products and essentially wiping out the entirety of the firm’s peak pandemic gains. Derek Saul, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 But what Iwo Jima and Gaza both demonstrate is the difficulty of destroying the entirety of a large and intricate network of military tunnels. Foreign Affairs, 9 Nov. 2023 This marks only the second time women took the Hot 100’s entire Top-10; the first time came last year, after Swift released Midnights and became the only artist to take the entirety of the top 10 for herself. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2023 At its conclusion, the series was up 280% in viewership over the last season, with the first three episodes eclipsing the entirety of season one. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023 The four-episode Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team premieres in its entirety December 12 on Netflix. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 12 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'entirety.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of entirety was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near entirety

Cite this Entry

“Entirety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entirety. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

entirety

noun
: the state of being entire or complete

Legal Definition

entirety

noun
en·​tire·​ty
plural entireties
1
: the state of being entire or complete
in its entirety
2
: an undivided whole
specifically : an interest in real property that cannot be divided compare moiety

More from Merriam-Webster on entirety

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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