exhaustive

[ig-zaws-tiv]

adjective

1. exhausting exhausting a subject, topic, etc.; comprehensive; thorough.

   He published an exhaustive study of Greek vases.

2. tending to exhaust or drain, as resources or strength.

   a protracted, exhaustive siege of illness.

exhaustive

/ ɪɡˈzɔːstɪv /

adjective

1. comprehensive in scope; thorough

   an exhaustive survey

2. tending to exhaust

Other Word Forms

• exhaustively adverb
• exhaustiveness noun
• nonexhaustive adjective
• nonexhaustively adverb
• nonexhaustiveness noun
• unexhaustive adjective
• unexhaustively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of exhaustive¹

First recorded in 1780–90; exhaust + -ive

Example Sentences

In addition to training, they must subject themselves to an exhaustive testing regime.

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Because it is privately funded and receives no federal money, the project is exempt from many exhaustive governmental vetting and environmental analysis requirements.

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Yet in their exhaustive, three-part account of Cooper’s life—the first two are by Mr. Clark, a biographer, and the third by Mr. Calvocoressi, a modern-art curator—they aim to resurrect another Cooper as well.

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Previous books have explored the theories in exhaustive detail.

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“This exhaustive approach compels developers to allocate significant time and resources toward preparing for hypothetical risks rather than addressing actual, demonstrable harms,” wrote the Chamber of Progress.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• comprehensive 
• encyclopedic 
• extensive 
• full-scale 
• in-depth 
• intensive 
• sweeping 
• thorough