altogether

[awl-tuh-geth -er, awl-tuh-geth-er] /ˌɔl təˈgɛð ər, ˈɔl təˌgɛð ər/
adverb
1.
wholly; entirely; completely; quite:
altogether fitting.
2.
with all or everything included:
The debt amounted altogether to twenty dollars.
3.
with everything considered; on the whole:
Altogether, I'm glad it's over.
Idioms
4.
in the altogether, Informal. nude:
When the phone rang she had just stepped out of the bathtub and was in the altogether.
Origin
1125-75; variant of Middle English altogeder. See all, together
Synonyms
1. utterly, totally, absolutely.
Usage note
The forms altogether and all together, though often indistinguishable in speech, are distinct in meaning. The adverb altogether means “wholly, entirely, completely”: an altogether confused scene. The phrase all together means “in a group”: The children were all together in the kitchen. This all can be omitted without seriously affecting the meaning: The children were together in the kitchen.
Examples from the web for altogether
  • We ought to be asking a different question altogether.
  • It may even result in a breakthrough that replaces oil altogether.
  • Eventually they become so unique that they're different species altogether.
  • It's another thing altogether to say they might be making us better athletes.
  • There will be talk of the country ditching the euro altogether.
  • Many others tried to stay out of the fight altogether.
  • As a result, cod stocks around the world are now tightly regulated, if not closed altogether.
  • There are a few areas you may want to lock down altogether.
  • Other administrators note that some of their graduates are skipping postdocs altogether.
  • Now there is talk of scrapping the reform altogether.
British Dictionary definitions for altogether

altogether

/ˌɔːltəˈɡɛðə; ˈɔːltəˌɡɛðə/
adverb
1.
with everything included: altogether he owed me sixty pounds
2.
completely; utterly; totally: he was altogether mad
3.
on the whole: altogether it was a very good party
noun
4.
(informal) in the altogether, naked
Word Origin and History for altogether

early 13c., altogedere, a strengthened form of all (also see together); used in the sense of "a whole" from 1660s. The altogether "nude" is from 1894.