wholly

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wholly

/ˈhəʊ.li/ UK
[ˈhəʊ.lɪ] UK
/ˈhəʊl.li/ UK
[ˈhɒʊɫ.lɪ] UK
/ˈhoʊ.li/ US
[ˈhoʊ.li] US
/ˈhoʊl.li/ US
[ˈhoʊɫ.li] US
/hɔl.li/ US
[ˈhɔɫ.li] US
/hɔl.i/ US
[ˈhɔɫ.i] US

Sounds like holey, holy · Rhymes with -əʊli, -əʊlli, -ɔːli

Where it comes from

From Middle English holly (“wholly”), holeliche, holliche (also as halely, hallich, etc.). Doublet of earlier holy. By surface analysis, whol(e) + -ly.

adverb wholely · wholy

not comparable Completely and entirely; to the fullest extent. wholly wrong
dialectal, excessive, informal, not comparable Very; to a great extent. ‘You ain't very strong, are you?’ said a neighbour with sympathetic intent, and ‘You don't have very good health, I expect?’ asked another. Mr Colville said, ‘He do look wholly pale, that's a fact.’ The word ‘wholly’ thus used puzzled me for some time. In Suffolk it is used for ‘very’ or ‘really’, a
not comparable Exclusively and solely. A creature wholly given to brawls and wine.
Similar: entirely

Similar: completely, totally, solely · Opposite: partly

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: completely, totally, entirely, altogether, whole, all, purely, utterly, outright, thoroughly, entire, fully, roundly, comprehensively, firmly, wholeheartedly

adverb

Similar: completely, totally, solely · Opposite: partly

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Cite this

MLA

"wholly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wholly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wholly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wholly

Chicago

"wholly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wholly.

BibTeX

@misc{wholly_2026,
  title = {wholly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wholly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}