What does wholeheartedly mean?
Wholeheartedly means with complete sincerity, enthusiasm, or commitment, without holding back or maintaining reservations. It is commonly paired with verbs and adjectives such as agree, support, endorse, approve, and commit. A person who supports an idea wholeheartedly does so fully and with strong conviction, while a person who approaches something wholeheartedly invests complete attention, energy, or affection in it. The word can describe both practical commitment and emotional engagement: a community may wholeheartedly welcome a proposal, or a volunteer may wholeheartedly devote herself to a cause. It is generally positive but can acquire a critical edge when the commitment concerns an unpopular, extreme, or damaging position. The expression’s force comes partly from its history: it combines the idea of being whole or complete with the language of the heart. Although its form may suggest an adverb, its base adjective is wholehearted, and the related noun wholeheartedness is also established.
adverbWith complete sincerity, enthusiasm, or commitment; without reservation.
- With complete sincerity, enthusiasm, or commitment; without reservation.
"The community wholeheartedly welcomed the proposal to preserve the historic building."
"The committee wholeheartedly approved the proposal after a lengthy discussion."
"She threw herself wholeheartedly into helping the families affected by the storm."
To do something wholeheartedly is to put your whole heart into it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wholeheartedly come from?
Wholehearted dates from the early 17th century and combines the older words whole and heartily, with whole intensifying the sense of complete or unreserved commitment. Heartily itself was formed from heart and the adverbial suffix -ly. The component whole ultimately comes from Old English hāl, meaning “entire” or “healthy,” a root also preserved in words such as heal and hale.
Related word forms
How wholeheartedly is actually used
Standard in formal and informal English, though it is especially common in statements of approval, agreement, and commitment. It is more emotionally emphatic than simply saying someone supports or approves something.