altogether


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

altogether

wholly, completely: It is altogether acceptable to come without a gift.
Not to be confused with:
all together – in a group: They were all together at the engagement party.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

al·to·geth·er

 (ôl′tə-gĕth′ər)
adv.
1. Entirely; completely; utterly: lost the TV picture altogether; an altogether new approach.
2. With all included or counted; all told: There were altogether 20 people at the dinner.
3. On the whole; with everything considered: Altogether, I'm sorry it happened.
n.
A state of nudity. Often used with the: in the altogether.

[Middle English al togeder : al, all; see all + togeder, together; see together.]
Usage Note: Altogether and all together do not mean the same thing. We use all together to indicate that the members of a group perform or undergo an action collectively: The nations stood all together. The prisoners were herded all together. All together is used only in sentences that can be rephrased so that all and together may be separated by other words: The books lay all together in a heap. All the books lay together in a heap.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

altogether

(ˌɔːltəˈɡɛðə; ˈɔːltəˌɡɛðə)
adv
1. with everything included: altogether he owed me sixty pounds.
2. completely; utterly; totally: he was altogether mad.
3. on the whole: altogether it was a very good party.
n
in the altogether informal naked
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•to•geth•er

(ˌɔl təˈgɛð ər, ˈɔl təˌgɛð ər)

adv.
1. wholly; entirely; completely: an altogether fitting memorial.
2. with all or everything included: The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.
3. with everything considered; on the whole: Altogether, I'm glad it's over.
Idioms:
in the altogether, Informal. nude.
[1125–75; variant of Middle English altogeder. See all, together]
usage: The forms altogether and all together, though often indistinguishable in speech, are distinct in meaning. The adverb altogether means “wholly, entirely, completely”: an altogether confused report. The phrase all together means “in a group”: The children were all together in the kitchen.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

altogether

1. 'altogether'

Altogether means 'completely'.

The noise had stopped altogether.
We need an altogether different plan.

You also use altogether to show that an amount is a total.

You will get £340 a week altogether.
2. 'all together'

Don't confuse altogether with all together. You use all together to say that a group of people or things are together or do something together, and that none of them is missing.

It had been so long since we were all together – at home, secure, sheltered.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.altogether - informal terms for nakednessaltogether - informal terms for nakedness; "in the raw"; "in the altogether"; "in his birthday suit"
nakedness, nudeness, nudity - the state of being without clothing or covering of any kind
Adv.1.altogether - to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')altogether - to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly'); "he was wholly convinced"; "entirely satisfied with the meal"; "it was completely different from what we expected"; "was completely at fault"; "a totally new situation"; "the directions were all wrong"; "it was not altogether her fault"; "an altogether new approach"; "a whole new idea"
colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
2.altogether - with everything included or countedaltogether - with everything included or counted; "altogether he earns close to a million dollars"
3.altogether - with everything considered (and neglecting details); "altogether, I'm sorry it happened"; "all in all, it's not so bad"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

altogether

adverb
1. absolutely, quite, completely, totally, perfectly, fully, thoroughly, wholly, utterly, downright, one hundred per cent (informal), undisputedly, lock, stock and barrel, al2gethr (S.M.S.) She wasn't altogether sorry to be leaving.
2. completely, all, fully, entirely, comprehensively, thoroughly, wholly, every inch, one hundred per cent (informal), in every respect, al2gethr (S.M.S.) The choice of language is altogether different.
completely relatively, somewhat, slightly, in part, halfway, partially, not fully, in some measure, incompletely, up to a certain point, to a certain degree or extent
3. on the whole, generally, mostly, in general, collectively, all things considered, on average, for the most part, all in all, on balance, in toto (Latin), as a whole, al2gethr (S.M.S.) Altogether, it was a delightful town garden.
4. in total, in all, all told, taken together, in sum, everything included, in toto (Latin), al2gethr (S.M.S.) Altogether seven inmates escaped.
Usage: The single-word form altogether should not be used as an alternative to all together because the meanings are very distinct. Altogether is an adverb meaning `absolutely' or, in a different sense, ` in total'. All together, however, means `all at the same time' or 'all in the same place'. The distinction can be seen in the following example: altog ether there were six or seven families sharing the flat's facilities means ` in total', while there were six or seven families all together in one flat, means `all crowded in together'.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

altogether

adverb
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
بِالإجْمَالبِرُمَّتِهِكُلِّيَّا
celkemdohromadyúplně
fuldstændighelti alti det hele taget
kaikkiaan
sveukupno
meî öllu, gersamlegameî tilliti til alls
全く
완전히
apskritai kalbantiki galo
kopumāpilnīgivisumā
popolnoma
sammanlagt
ทั้งหมด
cả thảy

altogether

[ˌɔːltəˈgeðəʳ]
A. ADV
1. (= in all) → en total
altogether, he played in 40 matchesen total, participó en 40 partidos
how much is that altogether?¿cuánto es en total?
altogether it was rather unpleasanten general fue muy desagradable
2. (= entirely) [stop, disappear] → por completo, del todo; [different, impossible] → totalmente; [wonderful] → realmente
he abandoned his work altogetherdejó de trabajar por completo or del todo
she looked altogether lovelyestaba realmente encantadora
I'm not altogether happy with your workno estoy del todo satisfecho con tu trabajo
Asia was another matter altogetherlo de Asia era un tema totalmente diferente
"do you believe him?" - "not altogether"-¿le crees? -no del todo
it's altogether out of the questiones totalmente imposible
I'm not altogether sureno estoy del todo seguro, no estoy totalmente seguro
it's altogether too complicatedes realmente demasiado complicado
B. N
in the altogether (= naked) → en cueros
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

altogether

[ˌɔːltəˈgɛðər] adv
(= completely) → complètement (= really) → tout à fait
I'm not altogether happy with your work → Je ne suis pas tout à fait satisfait de votre travail.
That's not altogether true → Ce n'est pas tout à fait vrai.
altogether different → complètement différent(e), tout à fait différent(e)
altogether stronger → bien plus fort(e)
altogether better → bien mieux
(= in all) → en tout
How much is that altogether? → Ça fait combien en tout?
You owe me £20 altogether → Tu me dois vingt livres en tout.
There were 11 of us altogether → Nous étions onze en tout.
(= on the whole, all things considered) → tout compte fait
Altogether, we had a lovely time → Tout compte fait, nous avons passé un très bon moment.alto saxophone alto sax nsaxophone m alto
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

altogether

adv
(= including everything)im ganzen, insgesamt; taken altogether, or altogether it was very pleasantalles in allem war es sehr nett, es war im Ganzen sehr nett
(= wholly)vollkommen, ganz und gar; he wasn’t altogether wronger hatte nicht ganz unrecht; he wasn’t altogether pleased/surpriseder war nicht übermäßig or besonders zufrieden/überrascht; it was altogether a waste of timees war vollkommene Zeitverschwendung; that is another matter altogetherdas ist etwas ganz anderes
n in the altogether (hum inf)hüllenlos, im Adams-/Evaskostüm; the King is in the altogetherder König hat ja gar nichts an
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

altogether

[ˌɔːltəˈgɛðəʳ] adv
a. (in all) → in tutto, complessivamente; (on the whole) → tutto considerato, tutto sommato, nel complesso, nell'insieme
altogether it was rather unpleasant → tutto sommato or in complesso è stato piuttosto spiacevole
how much is that altogether? → quant'è in tutto?
b. (entirely) → del tutto, completamente
I'm not altogether sure → non sono del tutto or proprio sicuro
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

altogether

(oːltəˈgeðə) adverb
1. completely. I'm not altogether satisfied.
2. on the whole and considering everything. I'm wet, I'm tired and I'm cold. Altogether I'm not feeling very cheerful.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

altogether

بِرُمَّتِهِ dohromady i alt insgesamt συνολικά en total kaikkiaan entièrement sveukupno completamente 全く 완전히 in totaal til sammen całkowicie no total, totalmente вместе sammanlagt ทั้งหมด hep birlikte cả thảy 完全地
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
When the day broke, it so happened that this history was not altogether finished, and that Scheherazade, in the nature of things could not finish it just then, since it was high time for her to get up and be bowstrung -- a thing very little more pleasant than hanging, only a trifle more genteel.
While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war-- seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation.
Her behaviour, I confess, has been calculated to do away with such an idea; I have not detected the smallest impropriety in it--nothing of vanity, of pretension, of levity; and she is altogether so attractive that I should not wonder at his being delighted with her, had he known nothing of her previous to this personal acquaintance; but, against reason, against conviction, to be so well pleased with her, as I am sure he is, does really astonish me.
Where nature is mighty, and therefore the victory hard, the degrees had need be, first to stay and arrest nature in time; like to him that would say over the four and twenty letters when he was angry; then to go less in quantity; as if one should, in forbearing wine, come from drinking healths, to a draught at a meal; and lastly, to discontinue altogether. But if a man have the fortitude, and resolution, to enfranchise himself at once, that is the best:
Brother belong my father Su'u boys kai-kai along him altogether."
With unswerving logic she traces the sequence of act and consequence, showing how apparently trifling words and deeds reveal the springs of character and how careless choices and seemingly insignificant self-indulgences may altogether determine the issues of life.
Souspennier is confounded altogether by a little revelation which I ventured to make.
But changeable am I only, and wild, and altogether a woman, and no virtuous one:
"I have to inform you, my dearest Fanny, that Henry has been down to Portsmouth to see you; that he had a delightful walk with you to the dockyard last Saturday, and one still more to be dwelt on the next day, on the ramparts; when the balmy air, the sparkling sea, and your sweet looks and conversation were altogether in the most delicious harmony, and afforded sensations which are to raise ecstasy even in retrospect.
As he lit a pipe and walked to and fro, he felt that this new state of things lent a certain savour to life - took from it a certain sensation of finality not altogether agreeable, which his recent great achievements in the financial world seemed to have inspired.
Most of the other half carried themselves away and were slow to return, but finally came back, and were now increasing and multiplying as before, but Blackburg had not since been altogether the same.
He then applied himself to the vice of lying, on which head he was altogether as learned as he had been on the other.