What does entireness mean?
Entireness is a noun denoting the state of being entire — that is, complete, whole, and untouched by omission or loss. It answers the question of what it means for something to remain intact: a text read in its entireness has been read from first word to last, and a building whose entireness is preserved retains every part that originally belonged to it. The word is formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-ness' to the adjective 'entire', which itself descends from the Latin 'integer', meaning untouched or whole. Although entireness entered English in the sixteenth century alongside its close rival 'entirety', it never achieved the same popularity, and today it survives mainly in formal, literary, or philosophical writing where the abstract quality of wholeness matters more than simple completeness. Writers seeking an everyday term should generally choose 'entirety', reserving entireness for deliberate stylistic emphasis on the idea of intactness itself — the sense that nothing has been taken away and nothing remains missing.
nounThe state or quality of being entire; completeness or wholeness, especially with nothing left out, removed, or damaged.
- The state of being complete or undivided; the condition of a thing remaining whole with no part omitted or lost.
"She insisted on reading the contract in its entireness before signing anything."
"The restoration aimed to preserve the cathedral's entireness, down to its original stonework."
"He read the will in its entireness before offering any opinion."
Almost never used in the plural; the word is nearly always treated as an uncountable abstract noun.
"Rarely pluralized; use singular constructions such as 'the entireness of the work'."
Entireness is the older sibling of 'entirety' — both were born in the 1500s, but only one became famous.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of entireness
Entireness was formed in English during the sixteenth century by attaching the native suffix '-ness' to 'entire', an adjective borrowed via Old French from the Latin 'integer', meaning untouched, whole, or intact ('in-' meaning not, plus the root of 'tangere', to touch). It arose at roughly the same time as its synonym 'entirety', but the latter came to dominate ordinary usage. The same Latin root gives English related words such as 'integrity' and 'integrate'.
How entireness is actually used
Entireness is rare and somewhat formal or literary; in everyday English, 'entirety' (as in 'in its entirety') is strongly preferred. Entireness tends to appear in philosophical, legalistic, or deliberately elevated prose where the abstract quality of wholeness is emphasized rather than the mere fact that something is whole.
Easily confused with entireness
Entirety is the far more common word for the state of being whole or complete, while entireness is a rarer, more formal synonym emphasizing the quality of wholeness itself.