holistic
adjective
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Look at the Big Picture With Holistic
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" expresses the essence of holism, a term coined by the great South African general and statesman Jan Smuts in 1926. Holism generally opposes the Western tendency toward analysis, the breaking down of wholes into parts sometimes to the point that "you can't see the forest for the trees". Holism is an important concept in the sciences and social sciences, and especially in medicine. Holistic medicine tries to treat the "whole person" rather than focusing too narrowly on single symptoms. It emphasizes the connections between the mind and the body, avoids the overuse of drugs, and has borrowed such practices from Eastern traditions as acupuncture and yoga.
Examples of holistic in a Sentence
Gareth Cook, Boston Globe, 9 June 2002
The Gaia hypothesis is certainly top-down and holistic, and it's now generally accepted … Organisms have not just adapted to different physical environments; they also modify and improve the environment for their own good—just like people.
—Tom Ghaffin, Natural History, October 1998
People with supermarket carts. When did these things come out of the stores and into the streets. She saw these things everywhere … filled with living trivia, the holistic dregs of everything if that is correctly put.
—Don DeLillo, Mao II, 1991
Holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body.
We need to take a more holistic approach to improving our schools.
Scott Tobias, Vulture, 7 June 2025
In my experience, this kind of cross-departmental representation helps ensure holistic decision-making by bringing together diverse perspectives from IT, legal, risk management and business operations.
—Victor Orlovski, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Joe Deutsch, the president of the Society of Health and Physical Educators and a professor in health, nutrition and exercise sciences at North Dakota State, explained that the shift is a reflection of the holistic change in physical education as a whole.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 4 June 2025
Rikki Clark McCoy, founder of Flourishing Minds LLC and a certified holistic therapist, believes that the concept is genuine and has sat with countless clients who describe an unshakable connection to someone—an ex, a friend, a past version of themselves.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for holistic
Cite this Entry
“Holistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holistic. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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holistic
adjective
hol- + -istic
Medical Definition
holistic
adjective
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