exhausting
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of exhausting
Explanation
Something that's exhausting tires or fatigues you. An exhausting hike up the side of a mountain leaves you gasping for breath and so tired you need to sit down and rest. Some things, like a rigorous workout or a difficult type of manual labor, are physically exhausting. Others are mentally exhausting, like a long argument with a friend or a tricky calculus exam. The adjective exhausting is rooted in the Latin exhaurire, "draw off, take away, use up, or empty," which perfectly describes how you feel after an exhausting experience.
Vocabulary lists containing exhausting
Spelling Practice 1, Unit 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In recent months, the company has faced criticism from users complaining that they were exhausting their usage quotas too quickly and having to pay high prices to continue.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
“The headline roulette is reaching the point where it is becoming exhausting for oil traders,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
But that’s what filmmaking is all about: surprising us, emboldening the viewer to the hard, emotionally exhausting things they never thought possible.
From Salon • May 25, 2026
It will be the beginning of an exhausting day.
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
She would spend whole hours sucking her finger in the bathroom, holding herself back with an exhausting iron will so as not to eat earth.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
