Whōl'ly, adv.
(hōl'ŷ, 20), adv. 1. In a whole or complete manner; entirely; completely; perfectly.
Nor wholly overcome, nor wholly yield. Dryden.
Sense 2. To the exclusion of other things; totally.
They employed themselves wholly in domestic life. Addison.
Walker says of this word, that “it ought undoubtedly to be written wholely, and pronounced like the adjective holy, and so as to correspond and rhyme with solely.” But it is to be observed that holy does not form a perfect rhyme to solely, inasmuch as the sound of l is prolonged or dwelt upon in the latter case, and not in the former; and that, as all correct speakers actually do pronounce wholly like holy, there is an obvious propriety in writing the word without the e of the primitive, thus bringing the two l’s into juxtaposition. See Principles of Pronunciation, §§ 20, 109.