wholly depend

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "wholly depend" is not correct in standard English; the correct form is "wholly dependent." You can use "wholly dependent" to describe a complete reliance on something or someone.
Example: "The project is wholly dependent on the availability of funding to proceed."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

9 human-written examples

Bush administration officials say they can wholly depend on Kuwait, whose very survival after Iraq's invasion in 1990 is owed to American military power marshaled by the president's father.

The New York Times

In the context of developing countries, parental financial resources become all the more important in shaping entrepreneurial attitudes of these students, since most of them partially or wholly depend on their families for educational and other needed support (Sharma, 2014).

Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research

One arbitrariness objection against theological voluntarism is that if theological voluntarism is true, then God's commands/intentions must be arbitrary; and it cannot be that morality could wholly depend on something arbitrary; and so theological voluntarism must be false.

SEP

This finding paints a pathetic picture of a community that has resolved to wholly depend on the government for relief supplies for as long as the government will stretch out its hands to provide for them; not that they cannot prepare to mitigate floods; but there are free hand-outs for the community.

Geoenvironmental Disasters

In favor of the claim that morality could not wholly depend on something arbitrary: when we say that some moral state of affairs obtains, we take it that there is a reason for that moral state of affairs obtaining rather than another.

SEP

The bitter politics of shifting away from coal are familiar in the United States, where many communities wholly depend of the industry, Republicans, and some Democrats have branded the White House's energy and climate change policies as a war on coal.

Vice

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

That, he stressed, "wholly depends on the perceivable credibility of our willingness to use force if necessary".

The Guardian

But with the exception of the Maldives, which is tiny, no affected country wholly depends on tourism.

The Economist

"Whether there's going to be a catastrophe or not wholly depends on how Opec is going to deal with it," she told the Guardian.

The Guardian

The major issue is that the distribution wholly depends upon the latent variables which are unknown.

EURASIP Journal on Audio, Speech, and Music Processing

Certain magazines, too, might benefit from the color screen, but that wholly depends on the types of magazines you read.

TechCrunch

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Consider the formality of your writing context. For formal settings, use alternatives like "be entirely contingent" or "be strictly conditional on" for a more polished tone.

Common error

Avoid using "depend" directly after "wholly" to describe complete reliance. Instead, use the adjective form "dependent" (e.g., "wholly dependent") or rephrase using "rely" (e.g., "completely rely") to ensure grammatical accuracy.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "wholly depend" functions as a verb phrase intended to express complete reliance. However, Ludwig AI indicates that it is grammatically incorrect. The correct usage would involve using "wholly" to modify the adjective "dependent" or using an alternative verb like "rely".

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

40%

News & Media

30%

Wiki

10%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Encyclopedias

10%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "wholly depend" appears in various sources, Ludwig AI identifies it as grammatically incorrect. To express complete reliance accurately, it's best to use "be wholly dependent" or "rely completely". This ensures clarity and avoids grammatical errors. When writing, consider the context and choose alternatives like "be entirely contingent" or "be strictly conditional on" for a more polished and professional tone. Remember to avoid the common mistake of using "depend" directly after "wholly"; instead, use the adjective form "dependent" or rephrase using "rely".

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

be entirely dependent

Replaces the verb with the adjective 'dependent' to express the state of relying completely on something, ensuring grammatical correctness.

be fully reliant

Emphasizes complete reliance with the adjective 'reliant' instead of the verb 'depend'.

completely rely

Uses the verb 'rely' instead of 'depend', which is often considered more standard, modifying it with 'completely' to ensure total dependence.

be wholly contingent

Substitutes with 'contingent', indicating that something's existence or occurrence is entirely dependent on something else.

be totally predicated

Expresses that something is based entirely on something else, carrying a formal tone.

rest entirely upon

Highlights the idea of support and reliance, suggesting that something's success or validity rests solely on something else.

be exclusively determined by

Indicates that something is solely decided or influenced by another factor.

hinge entirely on

Uses the idiom 'hinge on' to mean that the outcome or success depends completely on something.

be strictly conditional on

Expresses that something will only happen if certain conditions are completely fulfilled.

be absolutely determined

Shows that something's course is irrevocably set by something else.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "wholly depend"?

The grammatically correct way to express complete reliance is to say "be "wholly dependent"" or "completely "rely"". The phrase "wholly depend" is not considered standard English.

What are some alternatives to "wholly depend"?

You can use alternatives such as "be entirely "dependent"", "fully rely", or "be completely "reliant"" depending on the context.

Is there a difference between "wholly depend" and "wholly dependent"?

Yes. "Wholly depend" is grammatically incorrect. "Wholly dependent" is the correct form, using 'dependent' as an adjective to describe the state of complete reliance.

Can I use "wholly depend" in formal writing?

It is not recommended to use "wholly depend" in formal writing. Opt for grammatically correct alternatives like "be entirely "contingent"" or "rely completely" to maintain a professional tone.