/awl'teuh gedh"euhr, awl"teuh gedh'euhr/ , adv.
1. wholly; entirely; completely; quite: altogether fitting.
2. with all or everything included: The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.
3. with everything considered; on the whole: Altogether, I'm glad it's over.
n.
4. in the altogether , Informal. nude: When the phone rang she had just stepped out of the bathtub and was in the altogether.
[ 1125-75; var. of ME altogeder. See ALL, TOGETHER ]
Syn. 1. utterly, totally, absolutely.
Usage . The forms ALTOGETHER and ALL TOGETHER, though often indistinguishable in speech, are distinct in meaning. The adverb ALTOGETHER means "wholly, entirely, completely": an altogether confused scene. The phrase ALL TOGETHER means "in a group": The children were all together in the kitchen. This ALL can be omitted without seriously affecting the meaning: The children were together in the kitchen.