thorough

1 of 3

adjective

thor·ough ˈthər-(ˌ)ō

sometimes ˈthȯr-;

ˈthə-(ˌ)rō

Synonyms of thorough next

: carried through to completion : exhaustive

a thorough search

: marked by full detail

a thorough description

: careful about detail : painstaking

a thorough scholar

: complete in all respects

thorough pleasure

: having full mastery (as of an art)

a thorough musician

thoroughness noun

thorough

2 of 3

Example Sentences

Adjective … one realized that it was the restaurant's thorough and even comic Frenchness that had made it so entirely New York. —

Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2004

Bruce tells me to squat down and Koani sidles up, ears flattened, tail tucked away, and gives my face a thorough licking. —

Nicholas Evans, Daily Telegraph, 26 Sept. 1998

The job was uncharacteristically thorough for a Russian contract killing—three different types of bullets riddled Mikho's body. —

New Republic, 15 Dec. 1997

a thorough understanding of the rules and regulations The investigator will have to be thorough.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The instruction manual is especially thorough, with a section that includes food cooking tips and information on how to choose bakeware for the toaster oven. —

Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Apr. 2023 All three law enforcement agencies conducted a thorough investigation of the building and the surrounding area. —

Staff Report, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2023 Charges are pending a thorough traffic crash investigation, which is active. —

Garfield Hylton, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2023 The nonprofit again sued the Forest Service in 2008, alleging its environmental analysis was inadequate, and the court ruled the Forest Service had to do a more thorough analysis by the end of 2011. —

oregonlive, 1 Apr. 2023 The village council called for a thorough investigation of his killing and a general strike Saturday in protest. —

Isabel Debre, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023 But a handful of individuals familiar with the situation tell Variety that a number of employees had complained to human resources about Fleiss, which led to a thorough investigation that was conducted by an outside party in the past few months. —

Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety, 30 Mar. 2023 Curwood, a history professor at the University of Kentucky, offers a thorough analysis of Chisholm’s seven terms in Congress and her presidential run. —

Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thorough.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.