Meaning & use
thoroughly
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Meanings
adverbcomparable
In a careful way that covers every part and misses nothing.
Grammar: Often placed before the verb or past participle: thoroughly cleaned.
Patterns
- thoroughly check something
- thoroughly clean something
Wash your hands thoroughly before cooking.
The police thoroughly searched the building.
She read the contract thoroughly before signing it.
adverbnot comparable
To the greatest possible degree; completely.
Grammar: Used as an intensifier before adjectives and participles: thoroughly enjoyed.
Patterns
- thoroughly enjoy something
- thoroughly ashamed
We thoroughly enjoyed the concert.
I was thoroughly confused by the instructions.
He felt thoroughly ashamed of his behavior.
Word forms
| comparative | more thoroughly |
|---|---|
| superlative | most thoroughly |
Common combinations
- thoroughly enjoy
- The children thoroughly enjoyed the zoo.
- thoroughly clean
- Thoroughly clean the surface before painting.
- thoroughly investigate
- Officials promised to thoroughly investigate the accident.
- thoroughly modern
- The old building has a thoroughly modern interior.
- thoroughly mixed
- Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- thoroughly deserve
- They thoroughly deserve the prize.
Synonyms and how they differ
- completely
- Completely stresses total extent, whereas thoroughly also suggests attention to detail.
- carefully
- Carefully focuses on caution and attention, and it does not require covering every part.
- meticulously
- Meticulously is stronger and suggests extreme attention to small details.
- entirely
- Entirely means wholly and does not suggest effort.
Opposites
Word family
- thorough adjective
- complete and careful
- thoroughness noun
- the quality of being thorough
- thoroughfare noun
- a main road, from an older sense of through
Commonly confused: thoroughly or through?
thoroughly vs through
Through is a preposition or adverb of passing from one side to another; thoroughly means completely and carefully.
Practice
Before the exam, he read the whole chapter ____ and made notes on every section.
Choose one answer.
An adverb is needed to modify read, so thoroughly is correct. Thorough is an adjective, through a preposition and throughly is a misspelling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thoroughly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.