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

The whole point of big power plants and the continent-spanning (or at least partially continent-spanning) transmission grid is to provide everyone with backup power, so that we are not limited by local conditions. — David Roberts, Vox, "Clean energy technologies threaten to overwhelm the grid. Here’s how it can adapt.," 30 Nov. 2018 But the Ecobee4, our favorite smart thermostat, does a whole lot more than just that. — Alexandria Haslam, PCWorld, "The best smart thermostat you can buy, the Alexa-enabled Ecobee4, is $50 off," 16 Nov. 2018 These witty sayings are guaranteed to get some laughs this October—witch is the whole point! — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "54 Halloween Puns That Will Make You Say Boo-Yah," 19 Sep. 2018 The whole point of the private space movement is that anyone could pay for a ticket for any reason. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "5 Things We Learned From SpaceX's Moon Tourist Announcement," 18 Sep. 2018 However, Apple may also want more control over Mac repairs as a whole in terms of the parts used, the procedures run, and the price charged for such repairs. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Apple’s T2 chip will block some third-party repairs of new devices," 13 Nov. 2018 Add preserves, 1/2 cup whole cranberries, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar; stir to combine. — Anna Helm Baxter, Country Living, "Cranberry Crumb Bars," 30 Oct. 2018 As the home’s decor came together, a lightness of being descended upon the whole family. — Sara Ruffin Costello, ELLE Decor, "A New Orleans Manse is Given New Life with a Fashionable Pizzazz," 26 Oct. 2018 The protein source is available in many affordable forms at the supermarket—take canned, rotisserie, cold cut, whole, or frozen chicken, for example. — Audrey Bruno, SELF, "14 Chicken Dinners That Cost Less Than $2 to Make," 1 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The other is the sort of elegant-yet-unfussy charm that’s really emblematic of the island as a whole. — Corey Seymour, Vogue, "St. Barth’s Is Back—Here’s Where to Go," 30 Nov. 2018 Can the country, as a whole, do a better job of helping former factory towns bounce back? — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "When towns lose a factory, what comes next?," 29 Nov. 2018 But as a whole, the Seahawks’ pass rush has been maddeningly inconsistent. — Mike Vorel, The Seattle Times, "How did Seahawks pass-rusher Jacob Martin prepare for his rookie season? Jiu-jitsu.," 28 Nov. 2018 But going forward this will likely be a yearly event, to the detriment of the Arctic ecosystem and our planet’s health as a whole. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The Arctic's Most Resilient Sea Ice Is Breaking Up," 21 Aug. 2018 Looking at the the firefly population is a window into the health of the environment as a whole, since fireflies’ population density is directly correlated with the availability of healthy habitat, notes Clemson University’s Firefly Project. — Rebecca Straus, Good Housekeeping, "5 Ways to Attract Fireflies to Your Yard," 19 July 2018 There’s this whole open Internet where there’s forced competition among those. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Netflix will get ads, predicts the Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green," 15 Nov. 2018 Just circling back on the whole 'connecting' thing. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "The First Text Nick Jonas Ever Sent Priyanka Chopra Was Hilariously Formal," 30 Oct. 2018 This bed is like getting a whole row to yourself on an airplane. — Brittney Morgan, House Beautiful, "People Swear By This Green Tea Mattress On Amazon," 18 Oct. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

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 So much so that Dean does a whole fake proposal (ew, men never do this) with a key to his house. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, "'The Bachelor Winter Games' Season 1, Episode 4 Recap: A Couple Is Engaged, but It's Not Who You Think," 23 Feb. 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.