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comprehensive

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Broadly or completely covering.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahmpruhhehnsiv

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US recording
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˌkɑːm.pɹəˈhɛn.sɪv

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Broadly or completely covering; including a large proportion of something.

    “When there are diametrically opposing views on a big issue that concerns millions of people, doing comprehensive research just makes sense.”

noun

  1. British

    A comprehensive school.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Broadly or completely covering; including a large proportion of something.

Used this way, comprehensive is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“When there are diametrically opposing views on a big issue that concerns millions of people, doing comprehensive research just makes sense.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use comprehensive

  • “When there are diametrically opposing views on a big issue that concerns millions of people, doing comprehensive research just makes sense.”adjective
  • “Comprehensive coverage.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

comprehensive studycomprehensive viewcomprehensive systemcomprehensive analysiscomprehensive treatmentcomprehensive listcomprehensive accountcomprehensive program

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • comprehensibleadjectiveDerived adjective

    Capable of being comprehended or understood.

  • comprehensivelyadverbDerived adverb

    In an all-inclusive manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • comprehensive schoolnounCompound term

    A large British or Canadian secondary school for children of all abilities.

  • comprehensive examinationnounCompound term

    An intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some special field of knowledge.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: broadly or completely covering

extensivegeneralsweepinginclusiveencyclopedic

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.