n.
Pronunciation: ' h ō l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English hool healthy, unhurt, entire, from Old English h ā l; akin to Old High German heil healthy, unhurt, Old Norse heill, Old Church Slavic c ě l ŭ
Date: before 12th century
1 a (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>
3 a : 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>
4 a : constituting an undivided unit : UNBROKEN , UNCUT <a whole roast suckling pig> b : directed to one end : CONCENTRATED <promised to give it his whole attention>
5 a : 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>
synonyms see PERFECT
– whole · ness noun
synonyms WHOLE , ENTIRE , TOTAL , ALL mean including everything or everyone without exception. WHOLE implies that nothing has been omitted, ignored, abated, or taken away <read the whole book>. ENTIRE may suggest a state of completeness or perfection to which nothing can be added <the entire population was wiped out>. TOTAL implies that everything has been counted, weighed, measured, or considered <the total number of people present>. ALL may equal WHOLE , ENTIRE or TOTAL < all proceeds go to charity>.