Meaning & use

thoroughness

noun·Academic

The quality of doing something carefully and completely, attending to every detail without cutting corners.

See it in a sentence

The inspector's thoroughness meant she checked every wire in the building before signing off.

Her thoroughness in reviewing the contract caught an error the lawyers had overlooked twice.

A note on using this word

Thoroughness emphasizes completeness of effort, while meticulousness emphasizes precise attention to small details; the two often overlap.

Words with a similar meaning

diligencemeticulousness

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

carelessness

Make it your own

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