These words refer to things of which no part is missing, damaged, omitted, empty or imperfect. Entire may apply both in concrete and in abstract senses, referring to a physical, numerical, temporal or qualitative entity.

• The entire country was affected by drought; The entire cast was present for dress rehearsal; The entire day was ruined; His concern as a doctor was for the entire man, not just for the body.

Whole is more informal and more general than entire but is very chose to it in meaning and may be substituted for it in the examples above. Both words apply to that which is unbroken or undivided, but sometimes one or the other is used exclusively in a certain context.

• When the Venus de Milo was entire (or whole ), there were arms on the statue; A whole number is distinguished from a fraction.

Whole differs from entire in suggesting a moral or physical perfection that can be lost and recovered, as by the regaining of health: Your faith has made you whole . Here, entire is closer to intact , which refers to something that has remained in its original condition.

• The second generation kept the family fortune entire ; The heiress kept her father’s art collection intact .

A thing is said to be intact if it has successfully resisted attempts made on its integrity, or if it has been subjected to destructive influences or forces and has come through unscathed.

• She escaped from his clutches with her virtue intact ; Few buildings in the bombed city remained intact ; Though subjected to brainwashing, the prisoner of war emerged with his integrity intact .

Complete focuses on the presence of all needed or normal parts, while total simply implies a measurable aggregate. Both words may describe a collective entity: a complete set of dishes; the complete works of Shakespeare; his total earnings for 1968. Total , however, involves a precise determination of the size of an existent whole ; and whether a total amount or number is added to or subtracted from, it still remains a sum total so long as it is inclusive and accurate. Complete , by contrast, means finished or perfected, implying the meeting of a standard or fulfilment of a goal.

• The total number of jurors selected so far is nine, but the jury is not yet complete .

In an abstract sense the two words are much more closely synonymous, describing that which covers everything without exception or reservation: total (or complete ) destruction; a total (or complete ) commitment. Both are also sometimes interchangeable with entire : He has entire (or total or complete ) control of the business.

Full stresses content. In its most concrete sense, it implies that a receptacle contains as much as it can hold: to drink a full (or a whole) cup of coffee; a glass full of water. Like complete , it may stress the presence of all belonging parts: a full dozen. It may also describe something that is maximum in size, extent, degree or the like: a full moon as opposed to a crescent; a full load; full speed ahead. Full is close to whole , entire and complete in implying that a thing is not deficient or that nothing is being omitted or withheld. To take a full course of study is to take a complete course or a whole course. But the other words are stronger and more forceful in referring to something that is absolute and unlimited.

• You have my entire confidence; I have complete (or total or full ) confidence in you.

All the words in this set, with the sole exception of intact, may be used as intensives: You’ve missed the whole point; It took us an entire week; a full four years; complete contempt; total abstinence.