Altogether or All Together?

by Craig Shrives

Altogether or All Together?

What is the difference between "altogether" and "all together"?

  • "Altogether" means "with everything considered."
  • "All together" means "collectively."
altogether or all together difference
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More about "Altogether" and "All Together"

There is often confusion over the terms "altogether" and "all together." This confusion is understandable because the terms are close in meaning.

Altogether

The adverb "altogether" means "wholly," "to the full extent," or "with everything considered."

Examples:
  • I left him altogether convinced that the project will end on time.
  • Altogether Mark earns more than his cousin.

All Together

The term "all together" describes when a group acts or is acted upon collectively. (Of note, there can be other words between "all" and "together.")

Examples:
  • I want you to sing all together.
    • (I want you all to sing together.)
  • The soldiers stood all together waiting for the plane.
    • (The soldiers all stood together waiting for the plane.)
  • I would like to see you all together.
    • (I would like to see all of you together.)
Top Tip


If you can restructure your sentence to put word(s) between "all" and "together," then you need "all together" not "altogether."
Interactive Exercise
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See Also

adverse or averse? affect or effect? appraise or apprise? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? tenant or tenet? who's or whose? What are adverbs? What are verbs? List of easily confused words