thoroughly

adverb

thor·​ough·​ly ˈthər-(ˌ)ō-lē 

 sometimes  ˈthȯr-;

ˈthə-(ˌ)rō-

: in a complete or thorough manner

Police thoroughly searched the crime scene for clues.

Bats are extremely tidy: they comb themselves thoroughly, and don't gather a mess of nesting materials for their homes, as birds do.

—Diane Ackerman

: to a complete or thorough extent

We were thoroughly satisfied with the service we received.

thoroughly disgusted/delighted

By taking all the tricks in the game, one defeats the opponent so thoroughly that he may be disconcerted …

—Craig M. Carver

Synonyms

• completely
• comprehensively
• detailedly
• exhaustively
• fully
• inside out
• minutely
• roundly
• sweepingly
• systematically
• through and through
• totally

Examples of thoroughly in a Sentence

they researched the issue thoroughly before deciding how to vote

I am thoroughly satisfied with her explanation of the events of that evening

Recent Examples on the Web

The entire show is built around public art projects that were carefully proposed, diligently submitted, thoroughly considered — and then completely rejected. —Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 24 June 2024

The longtime couple and their children — Wyatt Isabelle, 9, and Dimitri Portwood, 7 — seemed to thoroughly enjoy Swift's second Eras Tour show in London on Saturday, June 22. —Raven Brunner, Peoplemag, 24 June 2024

Former University of Kansas guard Svi Mykhailiuk of the Boston Celtics thoroughly enjoyed Friday’s NBA championship parade, held in front of more than 1 million cheering fans in downtown Boston. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 23 June 2024

Latin America Mexico’s central bank gets its last consumer price reading on Monday before Thursday’s monetary policy decision, and the data will likely leave Banco de Mexico thoroughly unimpressed. —Craig Stirling, Fortune, 23 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above