wholly
adverbattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈhəʊ.li//
- United Kingdom/[ˈhəʊ.lɪ]/
- United Kingdom//ˈhəʊl.li//
- United Kingdom/[ˈhɒʊɫ.lɪ]/
- United States//ˈhoʊ.li//
Completely and entirely; to the fullest extent.
adverb
- 1
Completely and entirely; to the fullest extent.
wholly wrong
a wholly-owned subsidiary
And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet haue troden, shall be thine inheritance, and thy childrens for euer, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.
Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.
- 2
informalCompletely and entirely; to the fullest extent. Very; to a great extent.
- 3
Exclusively and solely.
A creature wholly given to brawls and wine.
Etymology
From Middle English holly, holeliche, holliche (also as halely, hallich, etc.). Doublet of earlier holy. By surface analysis, whol(e) + -ly.
wholly · Completely and entirely; to the fullest extent.
whom · What person or people; which person or people. As the object…whomever · Whatever person or persons (as object of verb or preposition).whoo · An expression of joy and excitement.