exhaustive

[ig-zaws-tiv]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exhaustive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

exhausting a subject, topic, etc.; comprehensive; thorough: He published an exhaustive study of Greek vases.

tending to exhaust or drain, as resources or strength: a protracted, exhaustive siege of illness.

Nearby words

Origin of exhaustive

First recorded in 1780–90; exhaust + -ive

Related forms

ex·haus·tive·ly, adverbex·haus·tive·ness, nounnon·ex·haus·tive, adjectivenon·ex·haus·tive·ly, adverb

non·ex·haus·tive·ness, nounun·ex·haus·tive, adjectiveun·ex·haus·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for exhaustive

“Discord” proceeds to envelop us in this exhaustive, mind-racking debate.
The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson (And Tolstoy and Dickens)|Samuel Fragoso|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They will also focus on the exhaustive nature of the investigation, during which staffers reviewed over 16 million documents.
You're About to See What Obama Calls 'Torture'|Josh Rogin, Eli Lake|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Consider, for example, the exhaustive coverage Chris Christie has received in recent months.
The Media's Selective Political Scandal Addiction|Ron Christie|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Here, now, are the results of an exhaustive listening study stretching back to 1998.
Shows on NPR, Ranked in Order From Glorious to Unbearable|Kelly Williams Brown|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

An exhaustive investigation uncovered some 24 such events over the last year, or about one every two weeks on average.
Read This, Skip That: The Best of The Daily Beast in 2013||December 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Very many thanks for your interesting and exhaustive investigations on the French lakes.
The Life, Letters and Work of Frederic Leighton|Mrs. Russell Barrington
No one is content to accept the contemplated union, should it be accomplished, as exhaustive.
The War and Unity|Various
All these plays, and the list is not exhaustive, are filled with personal allusions.
A Chronicle History of the Life and Work of William Shakespeare|Frederick Gard Fleay
Bebel's exhaustive work, here put in English garb, does this double work unerringly.
Woman under socialism|August Bebel
The list of schools in connection with monasteries does not profess to be exhaustive.
Education in England in the Middle Ages|Albert William Parry

British Dictionary definitions for exhaustive

exhaustive

adjective

comprehensive in scope; thoroughan exhaustive survey

tending to exhaust

Derived Formsexhaustively, adverbexhaustiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exhaustive

exhaustive

adj.

1780s, from exhaust + -ive. Related: Exhaustively; exhaustiveness.

exhaustive

adjective

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Origin of exhaustive

Examples from the Web for exhaustive

exhaustive

adjective

exhaustive