wholly

adverb

whol·​ly ˈhō(l)-lē 

1

: to the full or entire extent : completely

a wholly owned subsidiary

2

: to the exclusion of other things : solely

a book dealing wholly with herbs

Synonyms

• all
• all of
• all over
• altogether
• clean
• completely
• dead
• enough
• entire
• entirely
• even
• exactly
• fast
• flat
• full
• fully
• heartily
• out
• perfectly
• plumb [chiefly dialect]
• quite
• soundly
• thoroughly
• through and through
• totally
• utterly
• well
• wide

Examples of wholly in a Sentence

She is wholly devoted to her children.

An infant is wholly dependent on its mother.

The claim is wholly without merit.

Recent Examples on the Web

If Fishman’s math holds up, ESPN could be looking at a 20% boost in overall revenue in just seven years’ time—a feat that likely would be wholly improbable if the sports unit were to maintain the status quo or promote the streaming tyro at the expense of the foundational TV network. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 18 Dec. 2024

Soon after the shooting occurred, some X users, including prominent anti-trans accounts, began circulating wholly unsubstantiated claims that Rupnow was trans. —Abby Monteil, Them, 17 Dec. 2024

Tokenized securities proponents envision capital efficiency gains across the financial sector for securities that exist in a wholly on chain digital format. —Brady Dale, Axios, 17 Dec. 2024

The Saks Fifth Avenue store fleet, wholly owned by HBC, has not been paying its bills. —David Moin, WWD, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hoolly, from hool whole

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wholly

adverb

whol·​ly ˈhōl-(l)ē 

1

: to the full or entire extent : completely

a wholly different view

2

: to the exclusion of other things : solely

a book devoted wholly to sports cars