exhausting

American  

[ig-zaw-sting] / ɪgˈzɔ stɪŋ /

adjective

1. producing or tending to produce fatigue, weariness, or the like.

   an exhausting day; an exhausting child.

---

Other Word Forms

• exhaustingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of exhausting

First recorded in 1530–40; exhaust + -ing ²

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.

Example Sentences

Exhausting as it was to make the movie, catharsis was its reward.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2024

Her first response to the questions around what it was like during that period was simply: "Exhausting."

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2023

"It is probably banking on exhaustion. Exhausting our people, our anti-aircraft defences, our energy."

From Reuters • Jan. 2, 2023

In "The View Was Exhausting," that puzzle piece click! comes in fits and gasps, in no small part due to the tension between the two protagonists' identity.

From Salon • Aug. 21, 2022

Exhausting his ammunition he landed at Fontaine, an aviation field near the lines.

From Flying for France With the American escadrille at Verdun by McConnell, James R. (James Rogers)

Related Words

• debilitating
• draining
• taxing
• tiresome