What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Completely vs Altogether - What's the difference?

completely | altogether |

Altogether is a synonym of completely.



As adverbs the difference between completely and altogether

is that completely is in a complete manner; fully; totally; utterly while altogether is without exception; wholly; completely.

completely

English

Adverb

(en adverb)
  • (manner) In a complete manner; fully; totally; utterly.
  • * 1851 , (Herman Melville), , Chapter 70,
  • It should not have been omitted that previous to completely stripping the body of the leviathan, he was beheaded.
  • * 1899 , (Kate Chopin), , Chapter XIX,
  • She completely abandoned her Tuesdays at home, and did not return the visits of those who had called upon her.
  • * 1969 , E.R. Zumwalt, Jr., ,
  • Lieutenant (junior grade) KERRY immediately maneuvered his craft through several strafing runs which completely silenced the enemy.
  • (degree) To the fullest extent or degree; totally.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.}}
  • * 1968 June 8, ,
  • Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control.
  • * 1975 , (Helen Schucman), '', Lesson 75: ''The light has come ,
  • Keep a completely open mind, washed of all past ideas and clean of every concept you have made.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    altogether

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Without exception; wholly; completely.
  • * 1891 , , The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,"
  • Your advice will be altogether invaluable to me.
  • * , chapter=3
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”  He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.}}
  • On the whole; with everything considered.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson
  • , title=tEngland Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report, work=Telegraph citation , passage=A sell-out crowd of 10,000 then observed perfectly a period of silence before the team revealed their black armbands, complete with stitched-in poppies, for the match. After Fifa’s about-turn, it must have been a frantic few days for the England kit manufacturer. The on-field challenge was altogether more straightforward. }}

    Synonyms

    * wholly * completely * (on the whole) all in all

    Derived terms

    * in the altogether