You may know what collectively means but still feel unsure which word fits your sentence. Should you use together, jointly, combined, or something more formal? The right choice depends on what you want to say. A collectively synonym is a word or phrase that expresses the idea of people or things acting together, being considered as a group, or contributing to a shared result. Common alternatives include together, jointly, as a group, combined, and in total. This guide explains 30 useful options, with simple meanings and examples, so you can write with more confidence.
Quick Answer: What Is a Synonym for Collectively?
Collectively means together as a group or when considered as a whole.
The five most useful synonyms are:
- Together — in the company of others or as a group
- Jointly — through shared effort or responsibility
- As a group — with members acting as one unit
- Combined — brought together into one total or result
- In total — when all parts are counted together
Quick tip: Use together for everyday writing, jointly for shared responsibility, and in total when describing a sum.
Meaning and Usage of Collectively
Collectively is an adverb. It describes an action or situation involving several people or things considered together rather than separately.
For example, if five students work on one project, they work collectively. If you add the money earned by several people and report one final amount, you can describe that amount as their collective total or say that they earned a certain amount in total.
The word often appears in academic writing, business reports, teamwork discussions, and explanations about groups.
Is Collectively Formal or Informal?
Collectively is neutral to formal. It works well in essays, reports, meetings, and professional emails. In casual conversation, together or as a group often sounds more natural.
Compare these sentences:
- Formal: The researchers collectively reviewed the findings.
- Everyday: The researchers reviewed the findings together.
- Shared responsibility: The two managers jointly approved the plan.
- Total amount: Collectively, the donations reached $2,000.
These sentences are related, but their meanings are not exactly the same. Jointly highlights shared action, while in total highlights a final amount.
When Should You Use Collectively?
Use collectively when you want to emphasize a group, a shared action, or the overall result of several parts.
For example, a student might write, “The class collectively agreed on the topic.” A team leader might say, “We are collectively responsible for the outcome.”
If you only mean that several items add up to one amount, however, combined or in total may be clearer. The best synonym depends on the job the word needs to do.
30 Synonyms for Collectively With Meanings and Examples
These 30 alternatives are grouped by meaning and tone. Some describe people working together, while others describe things being combined or counted as one whole.
Group 1: Everyday Synonyms for Collectively
These words and phrases are easy to understand and fit most daily conversations. They are useful when you want your writing to sound clear rather than overly formal.
1. Together
Simple meaning: With other people or things in one group.
Example sentence: We worked together to finish the community garden before Saturday.
Best usage/context: Use together in everyday conversation, schoolwork, and general writing. It is one of the most flexible alternatives to collectively.
2. As a Group
Simple meaning: With everyone acting or being considered as one unit.
Example sentence: The students decided as a group which book to discuss.
Best usage/context: Use this phrase when the group itself is important. It works especially well when describing decisions, activities, or shared opinions.
3. All Together
Simple meaning: With everyone or everything included in one group.
Example sentence: All together, the volunteers planted 120 trees during the event.
Best usage/context: Use all together when you want to stress inclusion. When describing a total, check that the sentence clearly shows what is being counted.
4. As One
Simple meaning: In unity, with people acting in agreement.
Example sentence: The neighborhood stood as one to protect its local library.
Best usage/context: Use as one for unity, solidarity, or a shared response. It often has a stronger emotional tone than together.
5. In Unison
Simple meaning: At the same time or in agreement.
Example sentence: The audience clapped in unison when the performance ended.
Best usage/context: Use in unison when people speak, move, sing, or respond at the same time. It does not fit every situation involving a group.
Group 2: Synonyms for Shared Work and Responsibility
These alternatives are useful when people contribute to the same task, make a decision together, or share responsibility. They are common in professional, academic, and organizational writing.
6. Jointly
Simple meaning: Through the shared effort or responsibility of two or more parties.
Example sentence: The two organizations jointly funded a program for local students.
Best usage/context: Use jointly for shared decisions, agreements, ownership, funding, or responsibility. It is usually more formal than together.
7. Cooperatively
Simple meaning: By working willingly with others.
Example sentence: The design team cooperatively solved the problems that delayed the launch.
Best usage/context: Use cooperatively when the focus is on people helping one another. It emphasizes a positive working relationship, not merely membership in the same group.
8. Collaboratively
Simple meaning: By working together to create or achieve something.
Example sentence: The writers collaboratively developed a guide for new employees.
Best usage/context: Use collaboratively for projects that involve sharing ideas, skills, or creative work. It is especially suitable for education, research, and workplace projects.
9. In Partnership
Simple meaning: Working with another person or organization toward a shared goal.
Example sentence: The school worked in partnership with a local charity to provide meals.
Best usage/context: Use in partnership when two or more parties have an ongoing or organized relationship. It is more specific than simply saying they worked together.
10. In Cooperation
Simple meaning: With help or support from others.
Example sentence: The health center organized the event in cooperation with nearby schools.
Best usage/context: Use this phrase in formal reports, announcements, and descriptions of coordinated efforts. It highlights cooperation between people or organizations.
Group 3: Synonyms for Combined Results and Totals
Use these words when you want to describe several amounts, parts, contributions, or effects as one whole. They are especially useful in reports, calculations, and analytical writing.
11. Combined
Simple meaning: Joined together to form one result or total.
Example sentence: The combined sales of both stores exceeded their monthly target.
Best usage/context: Use combined when separate items or amounts are brought together. It often modifies a noun, as in combined efforts, combined income, or combined results.
12. In Total
Simple meaning: When everything is added or counted together.
Example sentence: In total, 450 people registered for the online workshop.
Best usage/context: Use in total when reporting a final number, quantity, cost, or count. It is not a direct replacement when you mean that people worked together.
13. Altogether
Simple meaning: When everything is considered or counted as a whole.
Example sentence: Altogether, the three short courses took about six hours to complete.
Best usage/context: Use altogether to summarize a total or give an overall judgment. It can also mean completely, so check the sentence to ensure the intended meaning is clear.
14. In Combination
Simple meaning: Used or considered together with something else.
Example sentence: The two teaching methods work well in combination.
Best usage/context: Use in combination when separate elements produce an effect together. It is common in technical, educational, health-related, and analytical explanations.
15. Collectively Considered
Simple meaning: Viewed together rather than separately.
Example sentence: Collectively considered, the survey responses reveal a clear preference for shorter lessons.
Best usage/context: Use this phrase in analytical or academic writing when discussing evidence, facts, or opinions as a whole. In many sentences, the simpler taken together sounds more natural.
Group 4: Formal and Academic Alternatives
These expressions can help you sound precise in essays, reports, research summaries, and professional documents. Choose them according to the exact meaning you need.
16. Taken Together
Simple meaning: When several things are viewed as one whole.
Example sentence: Taken together, the interviews and survey results suggest that students need more practice.
Best usage/context: Use taken together when drawing a conclusion from several pieces of evidence. It is a natural choice for essays and research writing.
17. In the Aggregate
Simple meaning: When separate parts are considered as a whole.
Example sentence: In the aggregate, the small savings made a meaningful difference to the annual budget.
Best usage/context: Use in the aggregate in formal analysis, economics, finance, or policy writing. It may sound unnecessarily technical in everyday conversation.
18. As a Whole
Simple meaning: Considering all parts together.
Example sentence: The report, as a whole, offers a useful picture of the company’s progress.
Best usage/context: Use as a whole when discussing the overall quality, effect, or nature of something. It is not always suitable for describing people actively cooperating.
19. In Concert
Simple meaning: Acting together in a coordinated way.
Example sentence: Several community groups worked in concert to improve access to public transport.
Best usage/context: Use in concert for coordinated action, particularly when several people or organizations work toward the same goal. It has a formal tone.
20. In Tandem
Simple meaning: Working together or operating in coordination.
Example sentence: The communications and design teams worked in tandem on the product launch.
Best usage/context: Use in tandem when two or more activities, teams, or processes operate alongside each other. It emphasizes coordination rather than a simple total.
Group 5: Synonyms That Emphasize Unity or Shared Purpose
These expressions highlight a common goal, a unified effort, or a shared position. They can make writing more expressive when collectively feels too general.
21. Unitedly
Simple meaning: In a united or agreed manner.
Example sentence: The residents unitedly supported the plan to preserve the public park.
Best usage/context: Use unitedly when the emphasis is on unity or agreement. It is less common than together or as one, so those alternatives often sound more natural.
22. In Solidarity
Simple meaning: Together to show support for a person or cause.
Example sentence: Employees gathered in solidarity with colleagues seeking safer working conditions.
Best usage/context: Use in solidarity for social causes, shared struggles, or public expressions of support. It carries an emotional or moral meaning that collectively does not always convey.
23. With One Voice
Simple meaning: Expressing the same view or message together.
Example sentence: The committee spoke with one voice in support of the new safety rules.
Best usage/context: Use this phrase when a group shares or expresses the same position. It is often figurative, so it does not require everyone to speak at the same time.
24. In Agreement
Simple meaning: Sharing the same opinion or decision.
Example sentence: After reviewing the evidence, the panel was in agreement about the next steps.
Best usage/context: Use in agreement when people share an opinion or reach the same decision. It does not necessarily mean they completed a task together.
25. In Common
Simple meaning: Shared by two or more people or things.
Example sentence: The two research teams had several goals in common.
Best usage/context: Use in common when describing shared interests, traits, goals, or features. It is not a general substitute for collectively in sentences about group action.
Group 6: Alternatives for Describing an Overall Effect
These options work when you want to explain how several parts contribute to a larger result. They are particularly helpful when summarizing information or describing the effect of multiple factors.
26. Overall
Simple meaning: Considering the whole situation.
Example sentence: Overall, the team’s changes made the website easier to use.
Best usage/context: Use overall to summarize a result, opinion, or general picture. It often appears at the beginning of a sentence and is not a direct substitute for every use of collectively.
27. In Sum
Simple meaning: In a brief summary of all the main points.
Example sentence: In sum, the three proposals offer different ways to reduce waiting times.
Best usage/context: Use in sum in essays, reports, and summaries. It signals a conclusion rather than describing people performing a shared action.
28. Taken as a Whole
Simple meaning: Considered in its entirety.
Example sentence: Taken as a whole, the collection tells a compelling story about life in the city.
Best usage/context: Use this phrase when evaluating a book, report, collection, argument, or body of evidence. It is more focused on overall interpretation than teamwork.
29. Cumulatively
Simple meaning: Through several additions or effects building over time.
Example sentence: The short daily delays cumulatively cost the team several hours each month.
Best usage/context: Use cumulatively when separate amounts or effects build up to a larger total. It is not the best choice when you simply mean that people acted together.
30. In Combination With
Simple meaning: Together with another thing or factor.
Example sentence: Regular practice, in combination with helpful feedback, can improve writing skills.
Best usage/context: Use in combination with when explaining how one factor works alongside another. It is especially useful in instructional, analytical, and formal writing.
Comparison Table: 12 Collectively Synonyms
The best synonym depends on whether you mean teamwork, agreement, a total, or an overall conclusion.
| Word or phrase | Tone | Intensity | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Together | Everyday | Low | General shared activity |
| As a group | Neutral | Low | Group decisions or actions |
| Jointly | Formal | Medium | Shared duties or ownership |
| Cooperatively | Positive | Medium | Helpful teamwork |
| Collaboratively | Professional | Medium | Creative or shared projects |
| Combined | Neutral | Medium | Merged amounts or results |
| In total | Neutral | Low | Numbers and quantities |
| Taken together | Academic | Medium | Reviewing evidence |
| In the aggregate | Highly formal | Medium | Data and financial analysis |
| As a whole | Neutral | Low | Overall assessment |
| In concert | Formal | Medium | Coordinated action |
| Cumulatively | Analytical | Medium | Effects that build over time |
Notice the main distinction: some alternatives describe how people act, while others explain how parts add up. Choosing the right group makes your sentence clearer.
How to Choose the Right Collectively Synonym
You do not need the fanciest word. You need the word that matches your meaning. Use these three simple checks before you replace collectively.
Choose by Tone
- Casual: Choose together or as a group. These sound natural in everyday writing.
- Professional: Choose jointly, collaboratively, or in partnership. These work well in workplace communication.
- Academic: Choose taken together, as a whole, or in the aggregate when the context supports a formal style.
Example: “The teams collectively prepared the report” can become “The teams collaboratively prepared the report” if they shared ideas and created the report together.
Choose by Meaning
Ask what you want the reader to understand.
- Shared action: Use together, jointly, or cooperatively.
- A shared opinion: Use in agreement or with one voice.
- A total or sum: Use in total, combined, or altogether.
- An overall judgment: Use as a whole or overall.
- Effects that build up: Use cumulatively.
Example: “The donations collectively reached $5,000” could become “The donations totaled $5,000.” The second version is shorter and more direct.
Choose by Intent
Think about what your sentence needs to do.
- Explain teamwork: “The departments worked together on the project.”
- Show shared responsibility: “The two directors jointly approved the budget.”
- Summarize evidence: “Taken together, the results support the conclusion.”
- Highlight unity: “The community stood as one.”
- Report a final figure: “In total, 300 applications were received.”
A useful rule is to match the word to the job. If you mean people cooperating, choose a teamwork word. If you mean several amounts adding up, choose a word about totals.
Common Mistakes When Using Collectively Synonyms
Some synonyms overlap in meaning but cannot be exchanged in every sentence. These are five mistakes worth avoiding.
1. Using “Jointly” for a Simple Total
Wrong: The five boxes jointly weighed 20 kilograms.
Correct: The five boxes weighed 20 kilograms in total.
Why: Jointly usually describes shared action, responsibility, or involvement. In total clearly reports the combined weight.
2. Confusing “Altogether” With “All Together”
Wrong: The team worked altogether to finish the project.
Correct: The team worked together to finish the project.
Why: Altogether often means in total or completely. Together describes people acting with one another. All together can also mean everyone in one group, as in “We were all together in the meeting room.”
3. Using “Cumulatively” When You Mean “Together”
Wrong: The students cumulatively worked on one presentation.
Correct: The students collaboratively worked on one presentation.
Why: Cumulatively describes effects or amounts building up over time or through successive additions. Collaboratively emphasizes shared work.
4. Using “In Common” for Joint Action
Wrong: The two companies worked in common to launch the service.
Correct: The two companies worked together to launch the service.
Why: In common usually describes shared features, interests, or goals. For joint action, together or in partnership is more natural.
5. Choosing an Overly Formal Phrase for a Simple Sentence
Wrong: We completed the assignment in the aggregate.
Correct: We completed the assignment together.
Why: In the aggregate is generally used to discuss combined parts, data, or amounts. It sounds unnatural when the intended meaning is simply that people worked as a team.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the closest synonym for collectively?
The closest everyday synonym for collectively is usually together. Both can describe people doing something as a group. However, the best replacement depends on the sentence. Use jointly for shared responsibility, in total for a sum, and taken together when discussing several pieces of evidence.
2. What is a formal synonym for collectively?
Formal alternatives include jointly, collaboratively, in concert, and in the aggregate. Choose jointly for shared responsibility, collaboratively for work involving shared ideas, and in the aggregate for data or combined amounts. The most formal option is not always the best one; clarity should come first.
3. What is a simple word for collectively?
Together is the simplest and most flexible option in everyday English. You can write, “The children collectively cleaned the room” as “The children cleaned the room together.” If you are describing a final amount instead, in total or combined may express your meaning more clearly.
4. Is “collectively” the same as “jointly”?
They are similar, but they are not always interchangeable. Collectively means that people or things are considered as a group or contribute to a shared result. Jointly more often emphasizes shared action, responsibility, ownership, or decision-making. For example, two partners may jointly own a business.
5. What is the difference between “collectively” and “altogether”?
Collectively emphasizes a group or the contribution of several parts. Altogether often means in total or completely. For example, “The members collectively made the decision” describes a group decision. “Altogether, the trip cost $400” reports the total expense.
6. Can I use “collectively” in academic writing?
Yes. Collectively is appropriate in essays, research papers, and reports when you are discussing a group, shared action, or combined contribution. For example, “Taken together, the findings suggest a change in behavior” may be clearer when your focus is evidence rather than group activity. Always select the phrase that best fits the point.
7. What is the best synonym for collectively in business writing?
For business writing, jointly, collaboratively, and in partnership are useful choices. Use jointly when parties share responsibility, collaboratively when teams work together on a task, and in partnership when organizations cooperate toward a common goal. For combined sales or costs, use combined or in total instead.
8. How can I avoid repeating the word collectively?
First, identify the exact meaning of each sentence. Replace collectively with together for general group activity, jointly for shared responsibility, or in total for a final amount. Sometimes you can remove the word entirely and make the sentence shorter. Read the revised sentence aloud to check that it sounds natural.
Conclusion
The best synonym for collectively depends on what you want to express. Together is ideal for everyday writing, jointly emphasizes shared responsibility, combined describes merged results, and in total makes a number clear.
You already know more of these words than you may think. The key is to choose one that fits your meaning and tone.
Try this today: Find one sentence where you used collectively. Replace it with a more precise alternative, then check whether your meaning is clearer.
Charles Cody is a talented author recognized for engaging storytelling, memorable characters, and imaginative plots. His books inspire readers through creativity, emotional depth, and meaningful literary experiences worldwide.
