wholeadjective
uk/həʊl/us/hoʊl/A2 complete or not divided:
I spent the whole day cleaning.
There's still a whole month till my birthday.
After my exercise class, my whole body ached.
The whole town was destroyed by the earthquake.
This whole thing (= situation) is ridiculous.
Bill does nothing but complain the whole time (= all the time).
You have to stand up in court and promise to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth".
Her dance compositions added a whole (= completely) new dimension to the contemporary dance repertoire.
informal used to emphasize something:
I have a whole pile of work to do this afternoon.
The new computers are a whole lot (= much) faster.
More examples
- She gave the whole class extra homework for a week.
- The police combed the whole area for evidence.
- We've just appointed a coordinator who will oversee the whole project.
- They spoke in Russian the whole time.
- It seemed as though the whole city had turned out for their team's triumphant homecoming.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Complete and whole
- A, a
- a/one hundred percent idiom
- absolutely
- all or nothing idiom
- all-in-one
- all-inclusive
- flat
- full-fledged
- full-length
- fully
- fully fledged
- heart and soul idiom
- plain
- root
- totally
- unabridged
- unadulterated
- unconditional
- uncut
- undivided
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Linguistics: very & extreme
Idiom(s)
go the whole hog
the whole bit
a whole lot
the whole lot
wholeadverb
uk/həʊl/us/hoʊl/whole adverb (IN ONE PIECE)
C2 as a single object and not in pieces:
The seeds can be eaten whole or ground in a coffee grinder.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Complete and whole
- A, a
- a/one hundred percent idiom
- absolutely
- all or nothing idiom
- all-in-one
- all-inclusive
- flat
- full-fledged
- full-length
- fully
- fully fledged
- heart and soul idiom
- plain
- root
- totally
- unabridged
- unadulterated
- unconditional
- uncut
- undivided
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whole adverb (COMPLETELY)
informal completely:
Now he's arrived, it's a whole different situation.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: very & extreme
- abject
- awful
- badly
- beyond
- classic
- classical
- devastating
- drop dead! idiom
- eminently
- esp
- especially
- heartily
- impossibly
- perfect
- rather
- sheer
- specially
- supremely
- thoroughly
- wide
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Complete and whole
wholenoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/həʊl/us/hoʊl/a complete thing:
Two halves make a whole.
You should consider each problem as an aspect of the whole.
the whole of sth
B1 all of something:
I'll be on holiday the whole of next week.
The whole of his finger was bruised.
The whole of the school (= everyone in the school) had come to the fair.
More examples
- I don't know anything about the workings of other departments or about the organization as a whole.
- The improvement in sales figures had a beneficial effect on the company as a whole.
- She drinks a lot less now, to the benefit of her health as a whole.
- In gestalt psychology and gestalt psychotherapy, people's thoughts and emotions are seen as complex wholes.
- Four quarters make a whole.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Complete and whole
- A, a
- a/one hundred percent idiom
- absolutely
- all or nothing idiom
- all-in-one
- all-inclusive
- flat
- full-fledged
- full-length
- fully
- fully fledged
- heart and soul idiom
- plain
- root
- totally
- unabridged
- unadulterated
- unconditional
- uncut
- undivided
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Linguistics: both, all, each & every
Idiom(s)
as a whole
on the whole