Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

exhaustive

/ɪɡˈzɔstɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.30 in modern English

Syllables
ex-hau-stive
IPA
/ɪɡˈzɔstɪv/
23
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Causing exhaustion; very tiring.

Archaic

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-ye-tider. Proto-Italic *auziō Latin hauriō Latin exhauriō Latin exhaustus Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Medieval Latin exhaustīvusbor. English exhaustive Borrowed from Medieval Latin exhaustīvus. By surface analysis, exhaust + -ive.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɪɡˈzɔstɪv/
  • British English: /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪv/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more exhaustive (comparative) most exhaustive (superlative)

Derived Forms

Phrases

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce exhaustive?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɪɡˈzɔstɪv/.
What does exhaustive mean?
Including every possible element: fully comprehensive.
Where does exhaustive come from?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-ye-tider. Proto-Italic *auziō Latin hauriō Latin exhauriō Latin exhaustus Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Medieval Latin exhaustīvusbor. English exhaustive Borrowed from Medieval Latin exhaustīvus. By surface analysis, exhaust + -ive.

How to pronounce exhaustive

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “exhaustive”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪɡˈzɔstɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “exhaustive”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “exhaustive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.