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whole

  • adjective 1 complete; entire. 2 emphasizing a large extent or number: a whole range of issues. 3 in an unbroken or undamaged state.

  • noun 1 a thing that is complete in itself. 2 (the whole) all of something.

  • adverb informal entirely; wholly: a whole new meaning.

  — PHRASES as a whole in general. on the whole taking everything into account; in general. the whole nine yards informal, chiefly N. Amer. everything possible or available.

  — DERIVATIVES wholeness noun.

  — ORIGIN Old English, related to HAIL2.

 

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