wholehearted

adjective whole·heart·ed \ ˈhōl-ˈhär-təd \

Updated on: 16 Mar 2018

Definition of wholehearted

1 : completely and sincerely devoted, determined, or enthusiastic

a wholehearted student of social problems

2 : marked by complete earnest commitment : free from all reserve or hesitation

gave the proposal wholehearted approval

—

wholeheartedly

adverb

See wholehearted defined for English-language learners

See wholehearted defined for kids

Examples of wholehearted in a Sentence

The judges gave us their wholehearted approval.
wholehearted praise for the novel by the leading critics

Recent Examples of wholehearted from the Web

In the past, the Star Wars actress has ricocheted between brunette, raven, platinum, and soft amber, but her brighter, bolder makeover, which infused strands from root to tip, felt like a wholehearted plunge.

— calin van paris, Vogue, "Daisy Ridley Debuts a New Fiery Red Hair Color in London," 9 Mar. 2018
Still, the setbacks are sobering: the 2016 defeat at the polls of a regional transit tax, and recent statements by leaders in Oakland and Macomb counties that backed away from wholehearted support for a future transit tax.

— bill laitner, Detroit Free Press, "'Walking Man' tops transit talk that plugs his adopted travel style — driving," 24 Feb. 2018
Britain has sold Saudi Arabia weapons worth billions of pounds, but now that the Saudis have imposed a blockade of Yemen’s key ports the British government appears to recognise that its wholehearted support for the war is toxic.

— The Economist, "LettersLetters to the editor," 19 Dec. 2017
But the level of support from members of the Kern County Water Agency, which serves much of the $7 billion-a-year farm economy at the southern end of the valley, was less than wholehearted.

— dale kasler, sacbee, "Group of San Joaquin farmers says they’re willing to pay for the Delta tunnels," 12 Oct. 2017
Israel, though, had expressed wholehearted support - until recently at least.

— loveday morris, Washington Post, "Kurds say they have no friends but the mountains. Now they have Israel, and that could cause them grief.," 25 Sep. 2017
In its wholehearted approval of the president's actions in the last week, that community removed all doubt.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Readers write: Letters to the editor, August 28, 2017," 28 Aug. 2017
Much of the film’s power, in fact, comes from its wholehearted embrace of the minutiae of daily life in Japan.

— matt alt, The New Yorker, "“Your Name,” the Most Popular Anime of All Time, Comes to America," 7 Apr. 2017
Some Democrats offered Nguyen their wholehearted support in the conflict.

— martin wisckol, Orange County Register, "Janet Nguyen’s expanding ’15 minutes’ of fame," 12 Mar. 2017

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

First Known Use of wholehearted

1644

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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wholehearted Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of wholehearted

sincere, wholehearted, heartfelt, hearty, unfeigned mean genuine in feeling. sincere stresses absence of hypocrisy, feigning, or any falsifying embellishment or exaggeration.