Altogether 是個副詞，主要意為「完全，全然」(completely) 或「總共，共計」(in total)。Altogether 意為「完全，全然」時旨在強調某事物完全停止、結束，或者強調某事物被完全遺忘或忽視，抑或強調對所說的話完全肯定；所以，not altogether 意為「不完全是」(not completely)。例如：
- The government has decided to abolish the tax altogether. (政府已決定完全取消這項稅收)
- Many people have stopped using their computers altogether. (許多人已完全不用自己的電腦了)
- John seemed to have forgotten our quarrel altogether. (約翰似乎已完全忘了我們吵過架)
- This is a new solution altogether. (這完全是一種新的解決方案)
- I don’t altogether agree with you. (我不完全同意你的看法)
- I’m not altogether sure Mary will marry me. (我不能完全肯定瑪麗會嫁給我)
- The speaker was $60 and the microphone was $30, so it was $90 altogether. (喇叭 60 美元、麥克風 30 美元，所以總共是 90 美元)
- How many students will there be altogether? (總共會有多少學生？)