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

Derived Forms

• exˈhaustiveness, noun
• exˈhaustively, adverb

Other Words From

• ex·haustive·ly adverb
• ex·haustive·ness noun
• nonex·haustive adjective
• nonex·haustive·ly adverb
• nonex·haustive·ness noun
• unex·haustive adjective
• unex·haustive·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of exhaustive¹

First recorded in 1780–90; exhaust + -ive

Example Sentences

These social media profiles can’t offer an exhaustive view into what every voter is being pushed online, but they can offer an insight into the impact of social media sites this election.

From BBC

If there is an entertaining upside to the barrage of nerve-jangling graphs and exhaustive explainers, it’s the obsession pundits, analysts and the news media in general have with the habits of a creature they find infinitely fascinating, the American male voter.

From Los Angeles Times

The Brookings Institution compiled an exhaustive list of ways in which studies have defined that group, including direct wealth indicators such as distance from poverty and purchasing power, as well as other markers like education level and occupation.

From Salon

Carpenter “had one day off from her very exhaustive tour schedule,” Swift wrote Tuesday on Instagram.

From Los Angeles Times

Georgian monitoring group "My Vote" has compiled an exhaustive list of the types of violations that its 1,500 observers documented on Saturday and in the run-up to the vote.

From BBC

Related Words

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