- present participle of exhaust.
exhausting
Americanadjective
Other Word 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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Difficult
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
What specific moments have been exhausting for you?
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2026
"The world to a lot of us is very loud, very noisy, very crowded, very bright, very smelly, and it's exhausting suppressing your response to all of this and carrying on."
From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026
"It's been exhausting, crazy," Roa says about the countless hours they've worked both to find survivors and to recover bodies and return them to their families.
From Barron's • Jul. 4, 2026
There, while losing virtually every battle he fought, he won the war by bleeding and exhausting his opponents.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
Just the boys’ voices on the bus were exhausting for me.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
