altogether

1. 1
   adverb

   Completely, wholly, or to the fullest extent, with no exception remaining.

   The old road was abandoned altogether after the highway opened.

   She removed the chapter altogether rather than try to revise it.

   Similarcompletely, entirely, fully, absolutely, perfectly

   Oppositepartly, partially

   Note

   This is the core sense, and its form explains it: Middle English altogeder joined al- "all" to together, much as Scots awthegither and Dutch altegaar do. Its most useful habit is the negative. Not altogether satisfied and not altogether undeserved are understatements: they concede part of a claim while withholding the whole, so "not altogether wrong" means partly right, a polite way to hedge.

2. 2
   adverb

   On the whole; with everything taken into account.

   Altogether, the team performed better than anyone had expected.

   It was a strange week, but altogether a productive one.

   Similaroverall, mostly, generally, mainly, largely

   Note

   Here the word delivers a verdict rather than a sum. It usually opens the sentence, set off by a comma, and weighs a mixed experience before settling: Altogether, I'm sorry it happened. All in all can stand in its place. The same position also serves the "in total" meaning. The test is what follows: a figure belongs to that sense, a judgment to this one.

3. 3
   adverb

   Including everything; counted as one combined total.

   Altogether, the repairs cost more than the car was worth.

   The collection holds three hundred items altogether.

   Similaroverall, collectively

4. 4
   nouncolloquialuncountable

   A playful term for the state of being completely naked, used chiefly in the phrase "in the altogether."

   Caught in the altogether by his surprise visitors, he grabbed a towel.

   The children escaped bath time and ran through the house in the altogether.

   Similarnude, buff, raw

   Note

   A jocular euphemism that gained currency in the late nineteenth century, and it nearly always travels with the article: one is in the altogether. The Quartier Latin of 1896 still sets it off in quotation marks, while Time in 1930 and David Carr in 2004 use it unmarked. The joke leans on the "completely" adverb: dressed in nothing at all. Being colloquial and light, it suits teasing, not clinical or formal writing.

5. 5
   adverbcolloquial

   Used informally to add force to what is said, marking it as clear and beyond doubt.

   That was a mighty save altogether, and the crowd was still cheering a minute later.

   You were very kind altogether to drive me all the way to the airport at five in the morning.

   Similarindeed

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