comprehensive
Americanadjective
-
of large scope; covering or involving much; inclusive.
a comprehensive study of world affairs.
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comprehending or thoroughly understanding with one's mind; having an extensive mental range or grasp, as of a particular subject or many subjects.
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Insurance. covering or providing broad protection against loss.
noun
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comprehensives
plural
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Also called comprehensive examination. Informal, none comprehensives. none comps an examination of extensive coverage given to measure a student's general progress, proficiency in their major field of study, or the like.
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the detailed layout of an advertisement, showing placement of photographs, illustrations, copy, etc., as for presentation to a client.
adjective
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of broad scope or content; including all or much
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(of a car insurance policy) providing protection against most risks, including third-party liability, fire, theft, and damage
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having the ability to understand
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of, relating to, or being a comprehensive school
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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comprehensivenessnoun
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noncomprehensivenessnoun
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precomprehensivenessnoun
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uncomprehensivenessnoun
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noncomprehensiveadjective
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precomprehensiveadjective
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quasi-comprehensiveadjective
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uncomprehensiveadjective
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comprehensivelyadverb
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noncomprehensivelyadverb
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precomprehensivelyadverb
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quasi-comprehensivelyadverb
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uncomprehensivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of comprehensive
First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin comprehēnsīvus; see comprehension, -ive
Explanation
When you want to describe something that includes all or most details, you can use the adjective comprehensive. If you get the comprehensive treatment at a spa, it might include a massage, a manicure and a facial. Comprehensive is from Latin comprehensivus, from comprehensus, the source of English comprehend. In business, comprehensive insurance is insurance that covers a broad range, offering protection against most risks of a certain type. It applies mainly to car insurance.
Vocabulary lists containing comprehensive
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Grade 9, List 1
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Jane Eyre
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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.
See Examples For:
The scientists are now urging more comprehensive investigations of cave ecosystems throughout China to uncover additional species and better understand these fragile underground habitats.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
The Social Security Administration called it “the most comprehensive SSN record cleanup in the agency’s 91-year history,” according to a statement released on Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
After Parkland, I led the effort in the Florida House to pass the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, the most comprehensive school-safety law in Florida’s history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The agency isn’t seeking consultation as legally defined by CEQA, but “more comprehensive involvement of tribes in planning, construction and stewardship of their ancestral lands.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
My narrative, while willfully episodic in character—no comprehensive coverage of all events is claimed—follows a chronological line, with one significant exception.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Look, CSU and all regional comprehensives in this country have a budget problem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
From BASIS’s first year in 1996-1997, students who failed the comprehensives had to retake them.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 28, 2019
Then, in the mid-1960s, the Labour government sped up their conversion into comprehensives.
From Economist ● Aug. 11, 2016
Toby had gone to Creighton, one of the most experimental comprehensives in the country.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2014
Katharine Birbalsingh has taught in London comprehensives for over 10 years and this diary of a typical year in one of those schools will confirm every parent's worst fears.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 27, 2011
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
