whole

adjective

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\ 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

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Adjective

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 Macdonald apologized on Twitter, The Tonight Show canceled his scheduled appearance — the whole thing was a mess. — David Marchese, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2021 Better than nothing, but why not repeal the whole thing? Carried Interest. — Howard Gleckman, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2021 This whole thing was actually an effort to get Nicole to cast me in a movie. — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 Sep. 2021 Waters was pretty matter-of-fact about the whole thing afterward. — Lori Riley, courant.com, 11 Sep. 2021 But the whole thing failed to come together before lawmakers left Sacramento. — Karen Kaplan Science And Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2021 Although just looking at the set list, the whole thing seemed somewhat generic and perhaps bordering on being a cover band. — Stephen Rodrick, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2021 That kind of understanding is part of your whole thing, too. — Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2021 The whole thing created a rift in the relationship between my father and Toyota. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun But on the whole, shows are still more frequently carrying on than facing the axe, adopting extra health measures like vaccine and negative Covid test requirements for entry. — Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2021 Sony has released a blog talking about the changes coming to the system after being tested in beta, which should make the PS5 better on the whole, though there’s stuff coming for PS4 and Sony’s mobile apps too. — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2021 On the whole, though, Americans have grown more wary of government surveillance in the name of national security, the poll shows. — Meg Kinnard And Emily Swanson, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2021 On the whole, that golden age of archaeology was not overly concerned with the wishes of Indigenous populations. — Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2021 However, the odd thing is that passengers don’t seem to be malicious or disrespectful people on the whole. — Peter Jakubowicz, Wired, 4 Sep. 2021 As for the season on the whole, USA Today Sports Dan Wolken offers up some dark horses. — USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2021 Yet consumers, on the whole, have amassed sizable stockpiles of savings, built up from stimulus checks, stock market gains and limited opportunities to spend money during the pandemic. — Christopher Rugaber, ajc, 3 Sep. 2021 Still, the genre on the whole remained something of a stepchild within the larger Hollywood family … until now. — Addie Morfoot, Variety, 2 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb Tubers can be planted whole or cut into pieces with at least one eye per piece. — Jodi Bay, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2021 Red Star’s work reclaims those portraits, infusing them with dignity and history through dense hand annotations, making vibrant and whole a series of pictures intended at the source to be partial and fading. — BostonGlobe.com, 2 Sep. 2021 These two are sold whole, but Mr. & Mrs. Pickle sells sweet and spicy chips, as well. — Amy Drew Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, 19 Aug. 2021 Loud, ferocious, and unabashedly carnivorous, this Australian marsupial often wears out its prey over a long chase, then devours it whole, bones and all. — Derek Powell, Car and Driver, 11 Aug. 2021 That means: spending time with inspirational people, saying no to anyone or anything that would require you to lower your standards, and respecting your boundaries whole-heartedly. — Meghan Ros, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2021 While diving for lobster off Provincetown, Mass., the 56-year-old apparently was swallowed whole by a humpback whale. — Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2021 That means: spending time with inspirational people, saying no to anyone or anything that would require you to lower your standards, and respecting your boundaries whole-heartedly. — Meghan Ros, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2021 The wing options are a little more inspiring, maybe even a return of Andre Iguodala, who could fill both the wing and backup point guard role and would be welcomed back whole-heartedly by Curry, Green, Thompson and head coach Steve Kerr. — Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 July 2021

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.