whole

adjective

\ ˈhōl

Definition of whole

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a(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

3a : 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

4a : constituting an undivided unit : unbroken, uncut a whole roast suckling pig

b : directed to one end : concentrated your whole attention

5a : 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

noun

Definition of whole (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a complete amount or sum : a number, aggregate, or totality lacking no part, member, or element

2 : something constituting a complex unity : a coherent system or organization of parts fitting or working together as one

in whole

: to the full or entire extent : wholly —usually used in the phrase in whole or in part

on the whole

1 : in view of all the circumstances or conditions : all things considered

2 : in general : in most instances : typically

whole

adverb

Definition of whole (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : wholly, entirely a whole new age group— Henry Chauncey

2 : as a complete entity

Other Words from whole Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about whole

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Synonyms & Antonyms for whole

Synonyms: Adjective

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

Synonyms: Noun

aggregate, full, sum, summation, sum total, total, totality

Antonyms: Adjective

diffuse, divided, scattered

Choose the Right Synonym for whole

Adjective

perfect, whole, entire, intact mean not lacking or faulty in any particular. perfect implies the soundness and the excellence of every part, element, or quality of a thing frequently as an unattainable or theoretical state. a perfect set of teeth whole suggests a completeness or perfection that can be sought, gained, or regained. felt like a whole person again after vacation entire implies perfection deriving from integrity, soundness, or completeness of a thing. the entire Beethoven corpus intact implies retention of perfection of a thing in its natural or original state. the boat survived the storm intact

Examples of whole in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Noun

the landlord eventually refunded the whole of our deposit

Adverb

We cooked the chicken whole. The frog swallowed the fly whole.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Worth noting: Demi, who'd kind of my spirit animal in this whole process, did not like him. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "What Is a Box King? Unraveling 'Bachelorette' Contestant Joe Barsano's Actual Job," 14 May 2019 So, the teens have to figure out how to survive on their own, and well that leads to a whole lot of drama. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Cast Of "The Society" And Their Characters," 10 May 2019 The whole process took about two months—from the initial meetings, to the fittings at Mango's headquarters in Barcelona, to the big day. — Glamour, "Mango Made a Gown for the Met Gala 2019—and You'll Be Able to Shop It," 6 May 2019 This whole process from starting at the bottom of the stairs to putting the protector on, took almost an hour. — Maddie Hiatt, House Beautiful, "This Flippable Mattress Changed My Life," 1 May 2019 That has a whole lot of repercussions for people who are selling this media or advertising against this media for listening to more of it. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "What’s next for virtual assistants like Alexa? Maybe buying stuff for you automatically.," 24 Dec. 2018 There’s so much artistry and craftsmanship that goes into making these legs perfect for every single person … watching the whole process from a plaster mold to this amazing, custom, high-tech piece of equipment that allows people to walk. — Susie Armitage, SELF, "10 Things Amputees and People With Limb Differences Want You to Know," 1 May 2019 According to the World Health Organization, a healthy diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole proteins, legumes, and beans. — Jessica Booth, Redbook, "Everything You Need To Know About Food Deserts," 29 Apr. 2019 This whole process has taken place behind closed doors. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "AOC Joins Rashida Tlaib's Call for Impeachment as Democrats Call for Congressional Testimony From Robert Mueller," 19 Apr. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Ten percent of middle-income jobs are at high risk in the US, compared with 18% in the OECD as a whole. — WSJ, "Tech, Media & Telecom Roundup: Market Talk," 12 Apr. 2019 As a whole, however, the general consensus is that people are both impressed and terrified. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "A Makeup Vlogger Transformed Himself Into Stormi Webster, and People Are Creeped Out," 18 Apr. 2019 But Sony’s PlayStation 5 will drag the console back into relevance with hardware upgrades sure to bolster gaming as a whole, according to a Wired interview with Sony system architect Mark Cerny. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Why Sony's PlayStation 5 specs matter to PC gamers: Ryzen, Radeon, SSDs, and ray tracing," 16 Apr. 2019 As expected, fans are already formulating theories about the album as a whole. — Sara Delgado, Teen Vogue, "BTS’s "Map of the Soul: Persona" Song "Dionysus" Has Brought Out a Cross-Section of BTS and "Percy Jackson" Fans," 9 Apr. 2019 Photo: Benedict Evans for The Wall Street Journal Ruth Wilson met the whole extended Wilson family—more than 50 members spanning several generations—not long after her grandmother’s death in 2005. — Joanne Kaufman, WSJ, "Actress Ruth Wilson Dramatizes Her Family’s Shocking Secret," 22 Feb. 2019 This is especially true after a game in which the whole very much exceeded the sum. — David Murphy, Philly.com, "The Phillies think they are for real. Who are we to argue? | David Murphy," 2 July 2018 On the other hand, there was the whole Neil Patrick Harris thing on Twitter. — Scott Meslow, GQ, "Rachel Bloom Has a Lot to Say," 13 June 2018 The performances are universally strong; every gesture and glance add to the whole. — Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader, "Father Comes Home From the Wars," 13 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Wealthy families are building whole-house generators and installing batteries on their properties. — Andrew Scurria And Arian Campo-flores, WSJ, "Puerto Rico Picks Bidders for Ailing Power Utility," 20 Jan. 2019 Economists generally say low barriers to trade and investment reduce consumer prices and allow capital to flow to the most productive companies and industries, making the economy as a whole more prosperous. — Paul Kiernan, WSJ, "Global Monetary-Policy Official Decries U.S. Trade Measures," 25 Aug. 2018 Nvidia’s dueling GeForce Now services just got a whole less complicated—and a whole lot more appealing for Shield TV owners. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Nvidia Shield TV levels up to full-featured PC gaming with free GeForce Now beta," 11 July 2018 The squabs can be served whole or cut in half with kitchen shears; or, use a sharp knife to carve the meat away from the breast cage. — Daniel Boulud, ELLE Decor, "Oven-Roasted Squab and Watercress Salad Recipe," 17 Aug. 2011 Fish, whether whole or cut, should be firm and shiny, but never soft, mushy, sticky or oily, signs of age. — Nicole Sours Larson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "White fish & vegetables," 9 July 2018 The prison had obtained whole-head lettuce that was consumed by the prisoners. — Lena H. Sun And Joel Achenbach, chicagotribune.com, "Source of E.coli-contaminated romaine lettuce still a mystery, FDA says," 24 Apr. 2018 And at the opposite end of the spectrum, Bruges, a fairy-tale town just 20 minutes from Ghent by train, with brewhouses tucked between the castles, is a whole different kind of cool. — Clodagh Kinsella, Condé Nast Traveler, "Northern Belgium Is Our New Favorite Food and Design Destination," 8 May 2018 But does the deep and traditional connection with women’s tennis make the men’s game and the sport as a whole more relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s audiences? — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "Serena Williams Is Set to Reclaim Her Leading Role in Tennis," 29 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.