exhaustive

adjective

ex·​haus·​tive ig-ˈzȯ-stiv 

: including all possibilities : thorough

conducted an exhaustive search

exhaustively adverb

exhaustiveness noun

exhaustivity

ig-ˌzȯ-ˈsti-və-tē 

noun

Synonyms of exhaustive

• thorough
• extensive
• comprehensive
• complete

Examples of exhaustive in a Sentence

The list was long but not exhaustive.

after an exhaustive search of our house, we still hadn't found the cat

Recent Examples on the Web

The New York Times‘ exhaustive list of the best TV shows of the 21st century traces its origin to a similar list of the best books a couple years ago. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2026

Boutros has since announced an exhaustive review of previous grand jury matters and reforms in how the usually secret grand jury transcripts are shared with the court. — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

According to David Brynan’s exhaustive research, McQueen went to pick up the car with his good friend and owner of a body shop, Lee Brown. — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 18 Sep. 2026

Maybe everyone was too quick to assume that the Dallas’ exhaustive defensive issues from a season ago were fixed. — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1789, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

exhaustive

adjective

ex·​haus·​tive ig-ˈzȯ-stiv 

: trying all possibilities : thorough

an exhaustive search

exhaustively adverb

exhaustiveness noun