What is the difference between entire and all?

zbeckabee

Basically, they both mean the same thing: ENTIRE in-tr adj : complete, whole syn sound, perfect, intact, undamaged entirely adv ALL ol adj 1 : the whole of 2 : every member of 3 : every <~ manner of problems> 4 : any whatever 5 : nothing but <~ ears> 6 : being more than one person or thing ALL adv 1 : wholly 2 : selected as the best used in combination 3 : so much <~ the better for it> 4 : for each side (C) 2008 Zane Publishing, Inc. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (C) 2008 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated ENTIRE (adjective) whole; including every part; complete; full http://www.english-test.net/toeic/vocabulary/words/124/toeic-definitions.php#entire ALL (adv) wholly, entirely, completely, totally, all, altogether, whole (to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')) "he was wholly convinced"; "entirely satisfied with the meal"; "it was completely different from what we expected"; "was completely at fault"; "a totally new situation"; "the directions were all wrong"; "it was not altogether her fault"; "an altogether new approach"; "a whole new idea" http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=all Sep 09 08, 9:08 PM

truefaithmom

I don't have a reference for this, but know from years of teaching... ENTIRE tends to be a singular inclusive word. The whole of something - even when talking about many things. For example: The entire audience, department, assembly, etc. Many people comprise those, but they are dealt with as a single entity. ALL is a plural inclusive. Example: all the people, workers, students, etc. Same people as before, but they are many individuals, rather than one unit. Hope that helps. Sep 10 08, 10:00 AM

Baloo55th

I agree with TFM to a great extent. It's a bit similar to the difference between few and less. (Few = counted; less = smaller amount.) Entire cannot be used when items are countable. You can say 'the entire collection' but not 'the entire stamps'. You can say 'all the stamps', and may say 'all the collection'. Note the different position of the 'all' and 'entire'. It's 'the entire' followed by a singular, but 'all the' followed by a plural. Entire is thus more restricted in use. Another point is that 'all the' and 'all of the' take a different number. 'All the collection is on display', but 'all of the collection are on display'. Source: as for TFM, years of experience in the business of word use. Sep 10 08, 10:56 AM