exhaustive

[ ig-zaws-tiv ]

/ ɪgˈzɔs tɪv /

SEE 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.

Words nearby exhaustive

exhaust-gas recirculation, exhausted, exhausting, exhaustion, exhaustion psychosis, exhaustive, exhaustless, exhedra, exhibit, exhibition, exhibition game

Origin of exhaustive

First recorded in 1780–90; exhaust + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM exhaustive

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. 2020

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

/ (ɪɡˈzɔːstɪv) /

adjective

comprehensive in scope; thoroughan exhaustive survey

tending to exhaust

Derived forms of exhaustive

exhaustively, 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

exhaustive

adjective

Words related to exhaustive

Words nearby exhaustive

Origin of exhaustive

OTHER WORDS FROM exhaustive

Examples from the Web for exhaustive

British Dictionary definitions for exhaustive

adjective

Derived forms of exhaustive