Definitions for: All


[adv] to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent; "he was wholly convinced"; "entirely satisfied with the meal"; "it was completely different from what we expected"; "was completely at fault"; "a totally new situation"; "the directions were all wrong"; "It was not altogether her fault"; "an altogether new approach"; (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly' as in"a whole new idea")
[adj] completely given to or absorbed by; "became all attention"



Webster (1913) Definition: All, a. [OE. al, pl. alle, AS. eal, pl. ealle,
Northumbrian alle, akin to D. & OHG. al, Ger. all, Icel.
allr. Dan. al, Sw. all, Goth. alls; and perh. to Ir. and
Gael. uile, W. oll.]
1. The whole quantity, extent, duration, amount, quality, or
degree of; the whole; the whole number of; any whatever;
every; as, all the wheat; all the land; all the year; all
the strength; all happiness; all abundance; loss of all
power; beyond all doubt; you will see us all (or all of
us).

Prove all things: hold fast that which is good. --1
Thess. v. 21.

2. Any. [Obs.] ``Without all remedy.'' --Shak.

Note: When the definite article ``the,'' or a possessive or a
demonstrative pronoun, is joined to the noun that all
qualifies, all precedes the article or the pronoun; as,
all the cattle; all my labor; all his wealth; all our
families; all your citizens; all their property; all
other joys.

Note: This word, not only in popular language, but in the
Scriptures, often signifies, indefinitely, a large
portion or number, or a great part. Thus, all the
cattle in Egypt died, all Judea and all the region
round about Jordan, all men held John as a prophet, are
not to be understood in a literal sense, but as
including a large part, or very great numbers.

3. Only; alone; nothing but.

I was born to speak all mirth and no matter. --Shak.

All the whole, the whole (emphatically). [Obs.] ``All the
whole army.'' --Shak.


All, adv.
1. Wholly; completely; altogether; entirely; quite; very; as,
all bedewed; my friend is all for amusement. ``And cheeks
all pale.'' --Byron.



Note: In the ancient phrases, all too dear, all too much, all
so long, etc., this word retains its appropriate sense
or becomes intensive.

2. Even; just. (Often a mere intensive adjunct.) [Obs. or
Poet.]

All as his straying flock he fed. --Spenser.

A damsel lay deploring All on a rock reclined.
--Gay.

All to, or All-to. In such phrases as ``all to rent,''
``all to break,'' ``all-to frozen,'' etc., which are of
frequent occurrence in our old authors, the all and the to
have commonly been regarded as forming a compound adverb,
equivalent in meaning to entirely, completely, altogether.
But the sense of entireness lies wholly in the word all
(as it does in ``all forlorn,'' and similar expressions),
and the to properly belongs to the following word, being a
kind of intensive prefix (orig. meaning asunder and
answering to the LG. ter-, HG. zer-). It is frequently to
be met with in old books, used without the all. Thus
Wyclif says, ``The vail of the temple was to rent:'' and
of Judas, ``He was hanged and to-burst the middle:'' i.
e., burst in two, or asunder.

All along. See under Along.

All and some, individually and collectively, one and all.
[Obs.] ``Displeased all and some.'' --Fairfax.

All but.
(a) Scarcely; not even. [Obs.] --Shak.
(b) Almost; nearly. ``The fine arts were all but
proscribed.'' --Macaulay.

All hollow, entirely, completely; as, to beat any one all
hollow. [Low]

All one, the same thing in effect; that is, wholly the same
thing.

All over, over the whole extent; thoroughly; wholly; as,
she is her mother all over. [Colloq.]

All the better, wholly the better; that is, better by the
whole difference.

All the same, nevertheless. ``There they [certain
phenomena] remain rooted all the same, whether we
recognize them or not.'' --J. C. Shairp. ``But Rugby is a
very nice place all the same.'' --T. Arnold. -- See also
under All, n.


All, n.
The whole number, quantity, or amount; the entire thing;
everything included or concerned; the aggregate; the whole;
totality; everything or every person; as, our all is at
stake.

Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all.
--Shak.

All that thou seest is mine. --Gen. xxxi.
43.

Note: All is used with of, like a partitive; as, all of a
thing, all of us.

After all, after considering everything to the contrary;
nevertheless.

All in all, a phrase which signifies all things to a
person, or everything desired; (also adverbially) wholly;
altogether.

Thou shalt be all in all, and I in thee, Forever.
--Milton.

Trust me not at all, or all in all. --Tennyson.

All in the wind (Naut.), a phrase denoting that the sails
are parallel with the course of the wind, so as to shake.


All told, all counted; in all.

And all, and the rest; and everything connected. ``Bring
our crown and all.'' --Shak.

At all.
(a) In every respect; wholly; thoroughly. [Obs.] ``She is a
shrew at al(l).'' --Chaucer.
(b) A phrase much used by way of enforcement or emphasis,
usually in negative or interrogative sentences, and
signifying in any way or respect; in the least degree or
to the least extent; in the least; under any
circumstances; as, he has no ambition at all; has he any
property at all? ``Nothing at all.'' --Shak. ``If thy
father at all miss me.'' --1 Sam. xx. 6.

Over all, everywhere. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Note: All is much used in composition to enlarge the meaning,
or add force to a word. In some instances, it is
completely incorporated into words, and its final
consonant is dropped, as in almighty, already, always:
but, in most instances, it is an adverb prefixed to
adjectives or participles, but usually with a hyphen,
as, all-bountiful, all-glorious, allimportant,
all-surrounding, etc. In others it is an adjective; as,
allpower, all-giver. Anciently many words, as, alabout,
alaground, etc., were compounded with all, which are
now written separately.


All, conj. [Orig. all, adv., wholly: used with though or
if, which being dropped before the subjunctive left all as if
in the sense although.]
Although; albeit. [Obs.]

All they were wondrous loth. --Spenser.

Synonyms: altogether, complete, completely, entirely, totally, whole, wholly

Antonyms: part, partially, partly

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