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exhausting

exhausting

92 3.2
To make you feel very tired
  • adjective
  • /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪŋ/
translation icon : agotador
  • Taking care of three toddlers all day can be incredibly exhausting for any parent.
  • an exhausting day
  • exhausting work
  • mentally exhausting

The drive will be exhausting, but you still go.

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Examples

  • Launching a maker club is hard, exhausting, and incredibly satisfying.

    Academic text (2014)
  • It has been a wild year, a great year and an exhausting year for us.

  • And it can just be exhausting over the years.

  • So I think this week is going to be exhausting, but fun as well.

  • I mean, some days are more exhausting than others.

  • It's been exhausting, I must say.

  • A little exhausting, but a great experience.

  • It's just that it's been a really exhausting semester.

  • A 45-minute walk around the site is exhausting even for a very fit person.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Reading lips when you can't hear properly is more exhausting than you'd ever imagine.

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

grueling
vsexhausting
30 7.0

Very hard and tiring, needing a lot of physical effort

is broader, meaning extreme tiredness without emphasizing physical effort
arduous
vsexhausting
29 7.7

Very difficult to do and needing a lot of effort over a long time

is mainly about causing great tiredness from long difficult effort
tiring
vsexhausting
25 1.0

Making you feel tired after a lot of activity

is more intense and produces very strong immediate tiredness
taxing
vsexhausting
5 6.8

Needing a lot of physical or mental effort

is more about producing severe tiredness than demanding effort
wearying
vsexhausting
1 5.4

Making you feel tired and worn out

is more extreme and creates very strong tiredness
draining
vsexhausting
1 4.4

Making you feel very tired and low on energy

is mainly about intense tiredness rather than lasting depletion
enervating
vsexhausting
1 8.3

Making someone feel very tired and weak

is more about strong tiredness rather than loss of vitality
wearing
vsexhausting
4.8

Making you feel tired after a long time or hard work

is stronger and creates extreme tiredness rather than slow fatigue

Antonyms

9 4.4

Making you feel more energetic and alive

How Exhausting

debilitating
33 7.5
exhausting
92 3.2
draining
1 4.4
wearing
4.8
tiring
25 1.0

Surface Forms

exhausting positive
exhausted comparative
exhausting superlative

Morphology

exhausting = exhaust (transparent) = exhaust + ing

Standard participial/adjectival formation from the verb 'exhaust'; the meaning 'making very tired' is directly derived.

Etymology

The word exhausting comes from Latin parts ex- meaning 'out' and haust meaning 'to draw' or 'to drink'. So something 'exhausting' has your energy 'drawn out' or 'drained', which is why it makes you very tired.