completely

completely — adverb

1. to the fullest degree possible, with nothing left out or unfinished

1.adverbB1
Definition

to the fullest degree possible, with nothing left out or unfinished

Example

Theo completely forgot about the dentist appointment until his phone rang.

collocation: completely forget + event

After three days of rain, the ground was completely soaked through.

passive: be completely soaked

Common collocations
  • completely forget
  • completely change
  • completely destroy
  • completely agree
  • completely different
  • completely understand
  • completely new
  • completely honest
Synonyms
  • totally

    more common in informal speech; interchangeable in most cases

  • entirely

    focuses on every part or aspect being included

  • thoroughly

    emphasises care and attention to detail in an action

  • absolutely

    stronger; often used for emphasis in subjective judgments

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

completely + adjective

completely + verb

Common Mistakes

❖ 'I completely finished the project almost.' ✅ 'I almost completely finished the project.' — The adverb ‘almost’ comes before ‘completely’, not after it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All four words mean ‘to a full degree’, but they differ in tone and typical use. ‘Totally’ is the most common in everyday conversation (‘I totally forgot’) and can sound casual. ‘Entirely’ focuses on completeness of every part (‘the building was entirely empty’) and is slightly more formal. ‘Thoroughly’ adds the idea of doing something carefully or exhaustively (‘we thoroughly checked the report’) and is used with verbs of examination or action, not stative senses. ‘Absolutely’ is the strongest intensifier, often used with adjectives expressing subjective judgment (‘absolutely right’, ‘absolutely certain’); it cannot modify most action verbs the way ‘completely’ can. Choose ‘completely’ for neutral, all-purpose contexts; pick one of the others when you need a specific nuance of formality, thoroughness, or subjective emphasis.

totally ↗entirely ↗thoroughly ↗absolutely ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • completely different approach
  • completely new system
  • completely honest answer
  • completely wrong assumption

Adverbs

  • almost completely
  • nearly completely
  • not completely

Phrases

  • completely by accident
  • completely out of the blue
  • completely in the dark

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin ‘completus’ (filled up, finished), the past participle of ‘complere’ (‘com-’ meaning ‘thoroughly’ + ‘plere’ meaning ‘to fill’). The word entered English through Old French ‘complet’, with the adverbial suffix ‘-ly’ added.