exhaustive
adjective
ex·haus·tive
ig-ˈzȯ-stiv 
: including all possibilities : thorough
conducted an exhaustive search
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
Yes—and this immersive, exhaustive program from the Noiser Podcast Network aims to be as close to a definitive account of the ship as possible.
—
Benjamin Cannon, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2025
Without the ability to interview or prosecute the suspect, the motive remains the hardest question, Wackrow said, and there’s a chance investigators will not find the answers even after doing exhaustive searches of digital history and physical evidence.
—Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 20 Dec. 2025
The public got an extensive, even exhaustive view of how police in Altoona, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, conducted Mangione’s arrest and searched his backpack after he was spotted eating breakfast at McDonald’s.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 18 Dec. 2025
Lacroix, a French political scientist, draws on a vast store of archives and interviews to provide an exhaustive genealogy of the party and its members, as well as its religious and political competitors, admirers, and detractors.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exhaustive
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Benjamin Cannon, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2025
Without the ability to interview or prosecute the suspect, the motive remains the hardest question, Wackrow said, and there’s a chance investigators will not find the answers even after doing exhaustive searches of digital history and physical evidence.
—Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 20 Dec. 2025
The public got an extensive, even exhaustive view of how police in Altoona, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) west of Manhattan, conducted Mangione’s arrest and searched his backpack after he was spotted eating breakfast at McDonald’s.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 18 Dec. 2025
Lacroix, a French political scientist, draws on a vast store of archives and interviews to provide an exhaustive genealogy of the party and its members, as well as its religious and political competitors, admirers, and detractors.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exhaustive
Cite this Entry
“Exhaustive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exhaustive. Accessed 1 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
exhaustive
adjective
ex·haus·tive
ig-ˈzȯ-stiv
: trying all possibilities : thorough
an exhaustive search
exhaustively
adverb
exhaustiveness
noun
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