HOLISTIC

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does holistic mean? 

• HOLISTIC (adjective)
  The adjective HOLISTIC has 1 sense:

1. emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole

  Familiarity information: HOLISTIC used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HOLISTIC (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Emphasizing the organic or functional relation between parts and the whole

Antonym:

atomistic (divided into separate and often disparate elements)

Derivation:

holism (the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole)

 Context examples 

N.D. has a qualification of primary care physicians with a specialized focus in preventative medicine, natural therapeutics, and emphasis on holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy and optimizing wellness.

(Naturopathic Doctor, NCI Thesaurus)

The patient- and family-centered active holistic care of patients with advanced, progressive disease.

(Palliative therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

This will result in a more holistic understanding of what drives biodiversity and how it may respond to ongoing and future human-caused changes in the 21st century.

(Connecting the prehistoric past to the global future, National Science Foundation)

Alternative medicine includes treatments and practices such as acupuncture, holistic medicine, homeopathy, ayurveda, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, herbal therapy, and biofeedback.

(Alternative Medical Procedure, NCI Thesaurus)

Taking a holistic view of a person’s health – such as looking at heart disease and depression together – enables us to understand how factors like traumatic experiences and the environment impact on both our physical and mental health.

(Inflammation links heart disease and depression, University of Cambridge)

This study emphasizes the need for integrating perspectives from the fossil record with modern approaches in comparative biology — it's a holistic approach to evolutionary biology and increases our understanding of environmental change in 'deep time.

(Researchers discover oldest evidence of 'farming' by insects, NSF)

(i) the systematic study of clinical and basic science and its application for the reduction of pain and suffering; (ii) the blending of tools, techniques and principles taken from the discrete healing art disciplines and reformulated as a holistic application for the reduction of pain and suffering; and (iii) a newly emerging discipline emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach with a goal of reduction of pain and suffering.

(Pain Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)