thor·ough
ˈthər-(ˌ)ō 
sometimes ˈthȯr-;
ˈthə-(ˌ)rō
1
: carried through to completion : exhaustive
a thorough search
2
a
: marked by full detail
a thorough description
b
: careful about detail : painstaking
a thorough scholar
c
: complete in all respects
thorough pleasure
d
: having full mastery (as of an art)
a thorough musician
thoroughness
noun
archaic
: through
Synonyms
Adjective
- absolute
- all-out
- arrant
- blank
- blooming [chiefly British]
- bodacious [Southern & Midland]
- categorical
- categoric
- clean
- complete
- consummate
- crashing
- damn
- damned
- dead
- deadly
- definite
- downright
- dreadful
- fair
- flat
- flat-out
- out-and-out
- outright
- perfect
- plumb
- profound
- pure
- rank
- regular
- sheer
- simple
- stark
- stone
- straight-out
- thoroughgoing
- total
- unadulterated
- unalloyed
- unconditional
- unmitigated
- unqualified
- utter
- very
Examples of thorough in a Sentence
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.
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
Cory McNeley, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Between the lines: By then, former President Trump's campaign took notice and made demands for a more thorough accounting of the incident.
—John Frank, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024
This can lead to liver thorough cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).20
Kidney damage: The kidneys depend on the heart for proper blood flow and pressure.
—Alexandria Nyembwe, Phd, Rn, Health, 4 Nov. 2024
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for thorough 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Adjective
Preparing your workforce for AI starts with a thorough understanding of the organization’s current capabilities.
—Cory McNeley, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Between the lines: By then, former President Trump's campaign took notice and made demands for a more thorough accounting of the incident.
—John Frank, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024
This can lead to liver thorough cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).20
Kidney damage: The kidneys depend on the heart for proper blood flow and pressure.
—Alexandria Nyembwe, Phd, Rn, Health, 4 Nov. 2024
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for thorough
Dictionary Entries Near thorough
Cite this Entry
“Thorough.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thorough. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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