How to Use wholly in a Sentence

wholly

adverb
  • The claim is wholly without merit.
  • She is wholly devoted to her children.
  • An infant is wholly dependent on its mother.
  • Her advice felt wholly new at the time.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 26 June 2026
  • Trust your gut deeply and wholly during this time in your life.
    — Michelle Dempsey-Multack, Parents, 2 May 2024
  • This isn’t a wholly new concept.
    — Victoria Song, The Verge, 5 Jan. 2026
  • But its flavor is wholly unique.
    — Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The slight tweak in name, along with adding words to the name, suggests a wholly fresh start.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2024
  • One man heard in the video seemed wholly unimpressed by the massive snake.
    — Warren Kulo | [email protected], al, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Those are harsh analogies but not wholly inapt ones.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 1 May 2026
  • God has put me here to continue to be me, and truly and wholly be me.
    — Essence, 10 Dec. 2024
  • And in the decade since, Jenner has wholly lived up to the title.
    — Kelsey Stiegman, InStyle, 28 May 2026
  • On the left side of the mouse is a wholly vertical area upon which your thumb can grip.
    — Benjamin Levin, CNN Underscored, 10 June 2020
  • Still, the people of Gaza cannot wholly fend for themselves.
    — José Andrés, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026
  • There was a reason her tribute was last and wholly not least, this senior night.
    — Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Socrates taught that no opinion is ever wholly right or wholly wrong.
    — Solomon D. Stevens, Twin Cities, 28 Sep. 2025
  • No, the episode isn’t wholly without closure.
    — Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Geminis have a rep for being liars, but that isn’t wholly true.
    — Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 16 May 2025
  • Starting today, more of what users say on the service may not be wholly their own words.
    — WIRED, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Then the runway changes over, and a wholly new profile is revealed, in black and white.
    — Nathan Heller, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2021
  • But truth be told, my cookie consumption is not tied to stress, at least not wholly tied to stress.
    — Tim Carman, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2020
  • But that doesn’t feel wholly true to my experience.
    — Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
  • An asymmetrical fit and lighter hue add up to a wholly new take on the classic trench.
    — Kerry Pieri, Harper's BAZAAR, 27 June 2022
  • The loss doesn’t wholly fall on Astier’s shoulders, though.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 13 May 2026
  • It is wholly owned by a private entity.
    — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Stump further notes his kids' love of his work on the series is wholly organic.
    — Chris Barilla, Peoplemag, 14 June 2024
  • Fans of the crime genre will be wholly and happily immersed in these classic thrillers.
    — Lizz Schumer, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
  • To dedicate my life wholly to writing has always been the goal.
    — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2025
  • But while Half Man is wholly fictional, there a lot of him in it.
    — Scott Huver, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Ava falls into baroque spirals of self-hatred that the plot does not wholly account for.
    — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wholly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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