What does exhaustive mean?
Word: Exhaustive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Exhaustive means covering every part of something, so that nothing is left out.
Synonyms: thorough, comprehensive
How do you spell exhaustive?
Syllables: ex - haus - tive
Tricky part: A silent h hides after the x and often gets left out.
Watch out for: exaustive, exaustiv, exhaustiv
Memory tip: An exhaustive list is a huge list, so let the h of huge stay in, just after the x.
Exhaustive in a sentence
Example 1: The guidebook has an exhaustive list of hill stations in Himachal Pradesh.
Example 2: Our science teacher gave an exhaustive answer that lasted the whole lesson.
Example 3: This is not an exhaustive list, so feel free to add your own ideas.
Fun Fact
It traces back to a Latin verb meaning to drain or draw out. An exhaustive study likewise draws every last drop from its subject.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Pick out the misspelt word in the list and choose its meaning.
1. accurate 2. exhuastive 3. diligent 4. tedious
a) going through all parts of a subject
b) exactly correct in what it says
c) long, slow and rather boring
d) hard-working and careful
Show answer
a) going through all parts of a subject. The a and the u have changed places in exhuastive.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word exhaustive as used in the sentence:
This exhaustive guide to India's rivers took the author eleven years to write.
a) recent
b) incomplete
c) popular
d) expensive
Show answer
b) incomplete. An incomplete guide would leave rivers out; this one misses nothing.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to form the right word:
Our librarian compiled an xetuseiavh record of every book on birds in the building.
a) excessive
b) exclusive
c) exhaustive
d) expensive
Show answer
c) exhaustive. None of the others has an h, a t and an a together.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
exhausstive
a) u
b) t
c) s
d) h
Show answer
c) s. One s sits right before the t.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would an exhaustive hunt for a lost ring involve?
a) waiting for it to turn up by itself
b) checking every room, drawer and shelf
c) looking on one table and then stopping
d) asking a neighbour if she has seen it
Show answer
b) checking every room, drawer and shelf
2. How is exhaustive different from exhausting?
a) the first is about speed, the second about distance
b) the first is about coverage, the second about tiredness
c) the first is about money, the second about time
d) the first is about noise, the second about silence
Show answer
b) the first is about coverage, the second about tiredness
