comprehensive
UK /ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪv/ US /ˌkɑmprəˈhensɪv/ Syllables: com-pre-hen-sive
Quick answer
Including everything that is necessary or relevant, leaving nothing important out.
Comprehensive describes something that includes everything that is needed, or nearly everything, and leaves nothing important out. A comprehensive guide covers a subject fully, a comprehensive plan deals with every part of a problem, and comprehensive insurance gives wide protection. Close words are thorough, complete, full, extensive, all-inclusive and exhaustive. The opposite is partial, incomplete or limited. The word does not mean able to understand, which is the job of comprehending. In British English a comprehensive can also be a comprehensive school, a state school that takes pupils of all abilities. The adverb is comprehensively and the noun is comprehensiveness.
"The report gave a comprehensive summary of the company's finances."Meanings
- Including everything that is necessary or relevant, leaving nothing important out.
- Covering or providing broad protection, as in comprehensive insurance.
Example sentences
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"The museum offers a comprehensive guide to the collection."
Level B1, Meaning 1
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"She gave a comprehensive answer to the question."
Level B1, Meaning 1
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"The report is a comprehensive review of the evidence."
Level B2, Meaning 1
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"Comprehensive insurance covers theft and fire."
Level B2, Meaning 2
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"The course is not comprehensive, but it covers the basics."
Level B1, Meaning 1
Synonyms and antonyms
Look-alikes and common mistakes
- comprehensible : Comprehensible means able to be understood. Comprehensive means including everything.
- extensive : Extensive means covering a large area or amount. Comprehensive means leaving nothing out.
- exhaustive : Exhaustive means covering every detail, often to a tiring degree. Comprehensive is a little less strict.
- inclusive : Inclusive means open to all kinds of people or things. Comprehensive describes how complete something is.
Word family and forms
Forms: more comprehensive, most comprehensive
Word partners
Words and phrases that often go with "comprehensive".
- a comprehensive guide
- a comprehensive review
- comprehensive insurance
- a comprehensive plan
- a comprehensive study
- a comprehensive list
- comprehensive coverage
Origin
Comprehensive entered English in the early 1600s. Wiktionary traces it to late Middle French comprehensif, and Dictionary.com to Late Latin comprehensivus. Both come from the Latin verb comprehendere, meaning to take in or grasp, which is also the source of the word comprehend.
Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.
Usage notes
"Comprehensive" is a common word in insurance, describing a policy that covers a very wide range of situations.
How to remember it
Comprehensive is about comprising, or including, everything. A comprehensive list includes it all.
Test yourself
Which word fits the gap? "The museum offers a _____ guide to the collection."
Answer: comprehensive
In your own words, what does "comprehensive" mean?
Including everything that is necessary or relevant, leaving nothing important out.
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Sources and credits
- Wiktionary, the free dictionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) · used for the origin, meanings, pronunciation · checked Nov 2, 2026
- Dictionary.com · used for the origin, meanings, word family · checked Nov 2, 2026
- Cambridge Dictionary · used for the meanings, pronunciation · checked Nov 2, 2026
Last reviewed November 2, 2026. Report a mistake on this page