on the whole
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Prepositional phrase
- (idiomatic) For the most part; apart from some insignificant details.
- The language was wrong for the period, but, on the whole, I enjoyed the film.
- 1849, Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, Monday:
- 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.
- 1910, E. M. Forster, Howards End, ch. 5:
- [H]is class was near enough her own for its manners to vex her. But she found him interesting on the whole.
- 2012 Jan. 18, Simon Shuster, "The Anti-Putin Movement: An Interview with the Blogger in Chief," Time (retrieved 18 August 2013):
- Both Maidan and Tahrir were peaceful. Maidan was absolutely peaceful, Tahrir saw some unrest but was still peaceful on the whole.
Synonyms
- all things considered, by and large; see also Thesaurus:mostly
Translations
for the most part
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