thoroughly

adverb

thor·​ough·​ly ˈthər-(ˌ)ō-lē 

sometimes ˈthȯr-;

ˈthə-(ˌ)rō-

: in a complete or thorough manner

Police thoroughly searched the crime scene for clues.

Bats are extremely tidy: they comb themselves thoroughly, and don't gather a mess of nesting materials for their homes, as birds do.

—Diane Ackerman

: to a complete or thorough extent

We were thoroughly satisfied with the service we received.

thoroughly disgusted/delighted

By taking all the tricks in the game, one defeats the opponent so thoroughly that he may be disconcerted …

—Craig M. Carver

Synonyms of thoroughly

• systematically
• fully

Examples of thoroughly in a Sentence

they researched the issue thoroughly before deciding how to vote

I am thoroughly satisfied with her explanation of the events of that evening

Recent Examples on the Web

Practice good food safety habits—such as refrigerating and thoroughly cooking eggs—to reduce the risk of food poisoning. — Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 23 July 2026

Hosting one of the Eastern Conference’s struggling teams, the Earthquakes (10-4-2, 32 points) were thoroughly outplayed in a 4-0 loss to Orlando City SC at PayPal Park, showing little of the form that fueled their historic first half of the season. — Harold Gutmann, Mercury News, 23 July 2026

Previous research done in the 1960s did not thoroughly study the reef system. — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 July 2026

Also, thoroughly clean all surfaces, dishes, utensils or other equipment that the uncooked food may have touched. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above