thorough

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adjective

thor·ough ˈthər-(ˌ)ō

sometimes ˈthȯr-;

ˈthə-(ˌ)rō

: 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

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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

Around the turn of the millennium, the number of students pursuing undergraduate degrees was exploding, and, as Kevin Carey wrote in a thorough breakdown for the Times, the proportion of stable teaching jobs wasn't keeping up.

Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2022 And the dominance of the wins during this current streak has stood out, with Monday’s being the most thorough.

Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Nov. 2022 The first step in a thorough double-cleanse, this makeup-melting formula is currently $16 bucks cheaper.

Anamaria Glavan, Allure, 28 Nov. 2022 Belles called his team's performance thorough and encouraging, calling Galvan all everything.

Azcentral.com, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2022 The Alpi Film Lab focuses on Italian-French co-productions wherein, thorough several workshop held throughout the year, the participating teams could draft their co-production plans for their projects.

Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 25 Nov. 2022 Those judged to be frail consult with a geriatrician, undergo a thorough geriatric assessment, and meet with a nurse who will help coordinate care after discharge.

Judith Graham, CNN, 25 Nov. 2022 Typically, Covington tells Glamour, the planning begins with a thorough analysis of when and where the fall foliage is expected to peak.

Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 23 Nov. 2022 After State’s Attorney Bernard Carey named Kunkle the first chair in the prosecution, Kunkle assembled a team of thorough attorneys that included Sullivan and prosecutors Robert Egan and Lawrence Finder.

William Lee, Chicago Tribune, 21 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thorough.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.