comprehensive

com·pre·hen·sive

adjective \ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-siv, -prē-\

Definition of COMPREHENSIVE

1

: covering completely or broadly : inclusive <comprehensive examinations> <comprehensive insurance>

2

: having or exhibiting wide mental grasp <comprehensive knowledge>

— com·pre·hen·sive·ly adverb

— com·pre·hen·sive·ness noun

Examples of COMPREHENSIVE

1. <a comprehensive overview of European history since the French Revolution>
2. <a comprehensive listing of all the paintings generally attributed to the Dutch artist Rembrandt>
3. Natalie's every move was photographed, a documentation of a happy childhood as comprehensive as it was false. —John Gregory Dunne, New York Review of Books, 15 Jan. 2004
4. Inevitably, though, in so comprehensive an account, some important events and themes are cursorily checked off … —Isabel Fonseca, Times Literary Supplement, 29 Jan. 1993
5. Walcott proceeded to misinterpret these fossils in a comprehensive and thoroughly consistent manner … —Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life, 1989

Origin of COMPREHENSIVE

(see comprehension)

First Known Use: 1614

Related to COMPREHENSIVE

Synonyms

all-embracing, all-in [chiefly British], all-inclusive, broad-gauge (or broad-gauged), compendious, complete, encyclopedic, cover-all, cyclopedic, embracive, exhaustive, full, global, inclusive, in-depth, omnibus, panoramic, thorough, universal

Antonyms

imperfect, incomplete, partial

Related Words

broad, catholic, encyclical, general, inclusionary, overall; cosmic (also cosmical), extensive, far, far-reaching, grand, large, panoptic, sweeping, vast, wide, wide-ranging; blanket, indiscriminate, unrestricted

Near Antonyms

circumscribed, limited, narrow, restricted, specialized; exact, precise; individual, singular, specific; incomplete, patchy, sketchy

Rhymes with COMPREHENSIVE

hypertensive, hypotensive