ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

Complete vs. Whole

Sometimes, “complete” and “whole” are interchangeable but sometimes they are not.

In the cases where they are interchangeable, they mean “containing all components, having all parts or elements and lacking nothing”, 包含所有部分, 不缺少任何部分

For example:

My daughter has a complete wardrobe of “Hello Kitty” dresses.  一完整衣櫃不缺少任何 “凱蒂貓” 的服飾
My daughter has a whole wardrobe of “Hello Kitty” dresses. 

A complete makeover 全面(不缺少任何, 每個部位都有)的改變造型

A whole makeover

Listed below are cases where they are not interchangeable.

Complete:

1.  thorough, total, entire 徹底的

A complete failure.  徹底的失敗

I heard that the electrician says we should have a complete overhaul of the wiring.  佈線的徹底詳細的檢查

2.  absolute, perfect, 絕對的, 完美無缺的, 無限制的

A complete politician 完美無缺的政治家

A Complete silence 絕對的沈默

Whole

1. all pieces, 整個的, 完整的

He ate a whole apple  一整顆蘋果

2.  undivided, unbroken, in one piece, 未分開的, 未被打破的

The archeologists just found a whole dinosaur.

3.  including every constituent or individual, 包括每一個組成或個人

The whole country was devastated by Typhoon Morakot.  

4.  from the beginning to the end,  從頭到尾的

My daughter chatted the whole morning.   

我女兒聊了整個上午.