Vocabulary
Holistic: meaning and common contexts
At work, someone calls a plan holistic. What does that tell you about the way the plan was made?
At a team meeting, someone describes a plan as holistic. Learn what that word tells you and how it sounds.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
holistic huh-LISS-tik
The short answer
Holistic describes an approach to an entire subject. It looks beyond one part, often considering how the parts affect one another, and does not simply mean good or healthy.
The clinic's taking a holistic view of your care.
Why it works: Holistic view means the clinic considers your care as a whole.
3 more examples
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Clinic care
The clinic's holistic plan considers sleep and work together.
The clinic considers several parts of the person's life before planning care.
Not this:The clinic has chosen a
healthy meal planfor you. What changes: Healthy means good for your health. It does not describe the scope of the clinic's approach. -
School planning
The school's holistic approach considers reading in class and study habits at home together.
The school considers classroom learning and study at home as parts of one plan.
Not this:The school's reading plan is
complete. What changes: Complete means that all required parts are present. It does not describe the school's wider approach to the learner. -
Council planning
The council's holistic plan considers housing and transport together.
The council considers housing and transport as parts of one plan.
Not this:The council has reviewed the
whole plan. What changes: Whole means all of the plan. It does not describe the way the council approached the planning.
Quick check
The plan considers sleep and work together. Which reason fits?
Answer: It's holistic because the plan considers sleep and work together.
Show the answer
Answer: It's holistic because the plan considers sleep and work together.
Holistic fits because the plan considers more than one part of the person's situation.
Read the full guide
Holistic tells you that a nurse is considering your care as a whole. The nurse may ask about sleep before discussing treatment.
The whole situation
The problem: I thought holistic was another word for good, so I used it as praise.
Maya's doctor asks about her sleep and work before planning care. The doctor wants to see how these parts affect one another.
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Her doctor takes a holistic view of her care by considering sleep and work together.
Why it works: The doctor looks at the person's overall situation before planning care.
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Her school uses a holistic plan for reading in class and study at home.
Why it works: The school treats several parts of learning as one plan.
Your turn
Maya's plan considers sleep and work together. Which reason fits?
Answer: It's holistic because it considers sleep and work together.
Show the answer
Answer: It's holistic because it considers sleep and work together.
Holistic describes the scope of the approach: it looks at more than one part of Maya's situation.
Hear the word
The problem: I miss holistic approach when people say it quickly.
People often say holistic approach as one smooth phrase, without a long pause between the words. The strongest beat is LISS.
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The doctor is using a holistic approach to care.
Why it works: Holistic comes between a and approach.
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Her teacher is taking a holistic approach to reading.
Why it works: The target phrase follows the verb taking.
Your turn
Fill the phrase you hear.
Answer: The doctor's using a holistic approach to care.
Show the answer
Answer: holistic approach
The complete phrase is holistic approach. The strongest beat is LISS.
Whole or holistic?
The problem: I used whole and holistic as if they meant the same thing.
Before you choose a word, ask what you mean. Use whole for all of one thing, as in the whole report. Use holistic for the way someone studies the wider situation.
Whole means all of one thing.
Lena read the whole report.
Holistic describes the way someone considers an overall situation.
Lena took a holistic view of the project.
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Not this:
Lena read the holistic report because every page was included.Say: Lena read the whole report because every page was included.
The point is that Lena read all of the report. The sentence does not describe a wider approach.
Your turn
The team considers work and sleep together. Which answer describes its approach?
Answer: It's holistic.
Show the answer
Answer: It's holistic.
Holistic describes the approach. Whole usually comes before a noun to mean all of that thing, as in the whole report.
Before you go
Question 1 of 3
Which description shows a holistic plan?
Care planning
Answer: It considers sleep, food, and work together.
Show the answer
Answer: It considers sleep, food, and work together.
The first option considers several parts of the person's situation.
Question 2 of 3
Fill the blank with the adjective for an approach that considers the whole situation.
Care plan
Answer: The clinic is planning a holistic approach to care.
Show the answer
Answer: holistic
Holistic can describe an approach that considers a person's care as a whole.
Question 3 of 3 · One new sentence
At a housing meeting, which sentence describes the wider approach?
Housing meeting
Answer: The plan is holistic because it considers housing and transport together.
Show the answer
Answer: The plan is holistic because it considers housing and transport together.
Holistic fits because the plan considers housing and transport as parts of one situation.
Remember this
Before you choose holistic, ask whether the approach sees the subject as one connected whole. Choose a plainer word when the sentence gives only general praise.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Holistic: meaning and common contexts"
When can you describe an approach as holistic?
Use holistic when an approach considers an entire person, system, or situation. The approach looks at several parts together and considers how those parts affect one another.
The museum planned a holistic renovation by considering access, lighting, and visitor flow.
The mentor took a holistic view of Dana's career goals and personal commitments.
How does holistic differ from whole?
Whole commonly means all of one thing or something with no part missing. Holistic describes a way of considering the wider situation, including the links between its parts.
We spent the morning reading the whole proposal.
The panel made a holistic assessment of how the policy affected several services.
Why are healthy and holistic not synonyms?
Healthy means having, showing, or encouraging good health. Holistic tells you about the range of an approach: it considers related parts together, without saying whether the result is healthy.
Fresh fruit can be part of a healthy breakfast.
The therapist suggested a holistic routine that considered movement, rest, and social support.
When should you use comprehensive instead of holistic?
Use comprehensive when something is complete and includes everything necessary. Use holistic when the point is an approach to the whole situation and the relationships among its parts.
The checklist is comprehensive because it covers every item required for the inspection.
The consultant offered a holistic analysis of how the company's teams depended on each other.
How do UK and US speakers pronounce holistic?
The UK pronunciation is /həˈlɪs.tɪk/, which you can approximate as huh-LISS-tik. The US pronunciation is /hoʊˈlɪs.tɪk/ and begins with hoh. Both pronunciations stress LISS.
Priya recommended a holistic approach to the training program.
Our library needs a holistic strategy for its spaces and services.
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