ENTIRELY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does entirely mean? 

• ENTIRELY (adverb)
  The adverb ENTIRELY has 2 senses:

1. to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent ('whole' is often used informally for 'wholly')

2. without any others being included or involved

  Familiarity information: ENTIRELY used as an adverb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ENTIRELY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

To a complete degree or to the full or entire extent ('whole' is often used informally for 'wholly')

Synonyms:

all; altogether; completely; entirely; right; totally; whole; wholly

Context example:

he fell right into the trap

Pertainym:

entire (constituting the full quantity or extent; complete)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Without any others being included or involved

Synonyms:

alone; entirely; exclusively; only; solely

Context example:

a privilege granted only to him

 Context examples 

I do think he had better leave Uppercross entirely, and fix at Lyme.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

This the Woodman did, and as Dorothy lay close beside the Lion and held Toto in her arms, the straw covered them entirely.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

During the cat’s absence the mouse cleaned the house, and put it in order, but the greedy cat entirely emptied the pot of fat.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

They began their walk, and Mrs. Morland was not entirely mistaken in his object in wishing it.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The molybdenum which is accessible today in the Earth's mantle, therefore, originates from the late stages of Earth's formation, while the molybdenum from earlier phases is entirely in the core.

(Moon’s Formation Brought Water to Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Working with ‘Eve’, the research team discovered that in fact, triclosan affects parasite growth by specifically inhibiting an entirely different enzyme of the malaria parasite, called DHFR.

(Toothpaste ingredient may help fight drug-resistant malaria, University of Cambridge)

If your birthday falls at the end of April, you may be moving into an entirely new career situation.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I am sure that his top-hat, had I ever ventured to don it, would have slipped over me entirely and rested on my shoulders.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

However, it has not been entirely clear how these glaciers are responding to this ice loss.

(NASA Finds Asian Glaciers Slowed by Ice Loss, NASA)