1 totalities | Definition of totalities

totality

noun
to·​tal·​i·​ty | \ tƍ-ˈta-lə-tē How to pronounce totality (audio) \
plural totalities

Definition of totality

1 : an aggregate amount : sum, whole
2a : the quality or state of being total : wholeness
b : the phase of an eclipse during which it is total : state of total eclipse

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Examples of totality in a Sentence

the totality of human knowledge the totality of the stars in the universe can only be loosely guessed at

Recent Examples on the Web

The Nena Springs fire started on Aug. 8, 2017, just a few weeks before a major solar eclipse brought an influx of visitors to the reservation, which was on the path of totality. oregonlive.com, "Lawsuit accuses rancher, farm equipment manufacturer of sparking 68,000-acre wildfire," 6 Aug. 2019 With picture books, there is a sublime totality of transport. Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: Travels in Time and Imagination," 5 July 2019 The totality of her sentence is still being determined in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. Phil Davis, baltimoresun.com, "Israeli sentenced for role in illegally employing over 100 immigrants and harboring some in Baltimore," 2 July 2019 With the eclipse's path stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, tens of millions of people got the chance to see the moon completely obscure the sun, a phenomenon known as totality. Michael Hardy, WIRED, "This Solar Eclipse Photograph Took Two Years to Capture," 24 July 2019 The aesthetic totality engulfs and exalts the variable charms of its parts. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, "Harald Szeemann’s Revolutionary Curating," 15 July 2019 Along the path of the moon’s shadow, viewers experience a sudden daytime darkness known as totality. Michael Waters, Smithsonian, "Photos Capture the Great South American Eclipse," 2 July 2019 Eventually, the Sun will start dimming over Chile at 3:22PM ET, with the first totality occurring over land at 4:38PM ET. Loren Grush, The Verge, "How to watch today’s total solar eclipse if you’re not in a small portion of South America," 2 July 2019 Burtynsky’s central point is that mankind’s dominion over Earth is changing landscapes and seascapes with a totality and scale that can be hard to grasp from the ground. Steven Litt, cleveland.com, "Edward Burtynsky photos at Cleveland Museum of Art document mankind’s troubled relationship with water," 23 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'totality.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of totality

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More Definitions for totality

totality

noun

English Language Learners Definition of totality

: the whole or entire amount of something

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