まるっきり

まるっきり is an adverb meaning "completely," "absolutely," "totally," or "not at all" (when used with negatives). It is an emphatic, colloquial variant of まるで or まったく, and is used to stress the entirety or completeness of a state or action. It belongs to spoken, informal Japanese and carries a stronger emotional nuance than its more neutral counterparts.

With negative expressions

The most common usage of まるっきり is with negative predicates, where it means "not at all," "absolutely not," or "completely lacking."

In this negative usage, it functions similarly to ぜんぜん全然 (ぜんぜん) or まったく, but sounds more colloquial and emphatic.

With positive expressions

まるっきり can also be used in affirmative sentences to mean "completely" or "totally," often implying that something is entirely like something else or has completely changed.

Nuance and register

まるっきり is distinctly informal and spoken. It would sound out of place in formal writing or business contexts. In more formal settings, use まったく or かんぜん完全に instead. It often conveys the speaker's surprise, exasperation, or strong judgment about the situation.

Related expressions

• まるで – "just like" / "as if" (often paired with ～ようだ / ～みたいだ)
• まったく – "completely" / "not at all" (more neutral, usable in formal contexts)
• ぜんぜん全然 – "not at all" / "completely" (casual but extremely common)
• まるきり – a slightly less emphatic variant of まるっきり with the same meaning