exhaustive

(ĭg-zô'stĭv)
adj.

1. Treating all parts or aspects without omission; thorough: an exhaustive study.
2. Tending to exhaust.

exhaustively ex·haus'tive·ly adv.
exhaustiveness ex·haus'tive·ness n.
exhaustivity ex'haus·tiv'i·ty n.

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Both words are derived from the verb exhaust, but relate to different meanings. Exhaustive relates to the meaning 'use up the whole of' (as in exhausting a supply) and means 'thorough or comprehensive':

We have all read the Steering Committee's exhaustive report—D. Meiring, 1979

Now, after exhaustive research covering more than 2,500 Premiership matches, it has been proved: referees are 'homers'—Times, 2006.

Exhausting relates to the meaning 'to tire (a person)' and means 'extremely tiring' or 'draining of strength':

He's known as the studio's resident Romeo, with a social life and a string of girlfriends which must be exhausting rather than exhilarating—Leicester Chronicle, 1976.

Beware of using exhaustive when you mean exhausting: ☒

All of this may have been down to tiredness after an exhaustive season in lifting the Heineken Cup in May—Mirror, 2006.

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Events (see sample space) A₁, A₂,..., A_n, are exhaustive if

, where S is the sample space. See also union.

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Resulting when all possible outcomes from all the events being studied have been considered.

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adjective

Covering all aspects with painstaking accuracy: all-out, complete, full-dress, intensive, thorough, thoroughgoing, thoroughpaced. See big/small/amount, careful/careless.

adj

Definition: all-inclusive, complete
Antonyms: excluding, incomplete, unfinished

IN BRIEF: Complete or thorough.

The scientists conducted an exhaustive search for the new element that they thought existed.

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - grundig, udtømmende

Nederlands (Dutch)
uitputtend, grondig

Français (French)
adj. - exhaustif, complet, minutieux, approfondi, poussé (une recherche)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - erschöpfend

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - εξαντλητικός, εξονυχιστικός

Italiano (Italian)
esaustivo, esauriente

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - exaustivo, completo

Русский (Russian)
исчерпывающий, всесторонний

Español (Spanish)
adj. - exhaustivo, completo, minucioso, detallado

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - uttömmande, grundlig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
无遗漏的, 详尽的, 彻底的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 無遺漏的, 詳盡的, 徹底的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 소모적인, 철저한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 徹底的な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) شامل, مستنزف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שלם, ממצה, מקיף‬

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