Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

on the whole

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.44 in modern English

Syllables: on the w-hole
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

For the most part; apart from some insignificant details.

Example Sentences

"The language was wrong for the period, but, on the whole, I enjoyed the film."
"Davis had a ball lodged in his body, and his right hand shot off; but on the whole, he seems to have been less damaged than his companion."
"[H]is class was near enough her own for its manners to vex her. But she found him interesting on the whole."
"Both Maidan and Tahrir were peaceful. Maidan was absolutely peaceful, Tahrir saw some unrest but was still peaceful on the whole."

Inflected Forms

upon the whole (alternative) upon the matter (alternative, archaic) upon the whole matter (alternative, archaic)

Synonyms

all things considered by and large all in all altogether tout ensemble

Questions

What does on the whole mean?: For the most part; apart from some insignificant details.

How to pronounce on the whole

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “on the whole”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “on the whole” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.