In this installment of Word Knots we’ll look at a word and a phrase that are often confused, despites having very different meanings.

Our source for this installment is The Dictionary of Disagreeable English by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Chicago: Writer’s Digest Books). This is a great book to browse: I highly recommend it.

From Fiske:

altogether

Misused for all together. 

As Fiske writes (excerpted):

Unlike alright and alot, altogether is a perfectly good word though it does not mean all together. Altogether means wholly or completely; in all; on the whole. All together means together, in a group; all at once.

■

Let’s look at what Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary says (excerpted):

altogether

adverb

1   wholly, completely, thoroughly

2  in all, all told

■

Fiske is smart to mention the nonsense words “alright” and “alot.” But M-W makes a concession by saying that “alright” is “in reputable use although all right is more common.” Sadly, making such allowances has become too common, whereby some dictionaries are adding words that have been adopted as common usage rather than sticking with what is correct.

I disagree with M-W on this one and agree with Fiske 100%: Use all right exclusively. For “alot,” M-W doesn’t make such a ridiculous allowance: It’s not a word.

Let’s look at examples of altogether and all together used correctly.

After rehearsing their parts alone, the leader asked the group to perform the routine all together.

After so many fruitless attempts, the company decided that the venture was altogether a failure.

Remember: word choice matters.

Like this post? Follow Virtus Publishing on LinkedIn!