2 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] Someone who is thorough is always very careful in their work, so that nothing is forgotten. □ Martin would be a good judge, I thought. He was calm and thorough. ● thor|ough|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ His thoroughness and attention to detail is legendary.
3 ADJ Thorough is used to emphasize the great degree or extent of something. [EMPHASIS ] □ We regard the band as a thorough shambles. ● thor|ough|ly ADV [ADV before v, ADV adj] □ I thoroughly enjoy your programme. SYNONYMS thorough ADJ
1
comprehensive: The Rough Guide to Nepal is a comprehensive guide to the region.
fulclass="underline" We should conserve oil and gas by making full use of other energy sources.
complete: The rebels had taken complete control.
exhaustive: The author's treatment of the subject is exhaustive.
2
conscientious: We are generally very conscientious about our work.
painstaking: Forensic experts carried out a painstaking search of the debris.
meticulous: The painting had been executed with meticulous attention to detail.
thorough|bred /θʌ rəbred, [AM ] θɜː roʊ-/ (thoroughbreds )
1 N‑COUNT A thoroughbred is a horse that has parents that are of the same high quality breed.
2 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A thoroughbred is a particular breed of racing horse. □ …a thoroughbred stallion.
thorough|fare /θʌ rəfeə r , [AM ] θɜː roʊ-/ (thoroughfares ) N‑COUNT A thoroughfare is a main road in a town or city which usually has shops along it and a lot of traffic. [FORMAL ] □ …a busy thoroughfare.
thorough|going /θʌ rəgoʊ I ŋ, [AM ] θɜː roʊ-/ also thorough-going
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use thoroughgoing to emphasize that someone or something is fully or completely the type of person or thing specified. [EMPHASIS ] □ …a thoroughgoing conservative. □ …readers who are unhappy with such thoroughgoing materialism.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a piece of work as thoroughgoing , you approve of it because it has been carefully and thoroughly put together. [APPROVAL ] □ …a thoroughgoing review of prison conditions.
those ◆◆◆ The determiner is pronounced /ðoʊz/. The pronoun is pronounced /ðoʊ z/. 1 DET You use those to refer to people or things which have already been mentioned. □ Theoretically he had control over more than $400 million in U.S. accounts. But, in fact, it was the U.S. Treasury and State Department who controlled those accounts. □ I was helped by people who cared and I shall never be able to thank those people enough. ● PRON Those is also a pronoun. □ I understand there are several projects going on. Could you tell us a bit about those?
2 DET You use those when you are referring to people or things that are a distance away from you in position or time, especially when you indicate or point to them. □ What are those buildings? □ Oh, those books! I meant to put them away before this afternoon. ● PRON Those is also a pronoun. □ Those are nice shoes. Where'd you get them?
3 DET You use those to refer to someone or something when you are going to give details or information about them. [FORMAL ] □ Those people who took up weapons to defend themselves are political prisoners.
4 PRON You use those to introduce more information about something already mentioned, instead of repeating the noun which refers to it. [FORMAL ] □ The interests he enjoys most are those which enable him to show off his talents.
5 PRON You use those to mean 'people'. □ A little selfish behaviour is unlikely to cause real damage to those around us.
6 DET You use those when you refer to things that you expect the person you are talking to to know about or when you are checking that you are both thinking of the same people or things. □ He did buy me those daffodils a week or so ago.
thou /ðaʊ/
1 PRON Thou is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for 'you' when you are talking to only one person. It is used as the subject of a verb.
2 → see also holier-than-thou
though ◆◆◆ Pronounced /ðoʊ/ for meanings 1 and 2 , and /ðoʊ / for meanings 3 to 6 . 1 CONJ You use though to introduce a statement in a subordinate clause which contrasts with the statement in the main clause. You often use though to introduce a fact which you regard as less important than the fact in the main clause. □ The film was exactly how I had pictured it, though I think Gale should have had a bigger part. □ After this news Ford broke down again, though he blamed the breakdown on his work.
2 CONJ You use though to introduce a subordinate clause which gives some information that is relevant to the main clause and weakens the force of what it is saying. □ I look back on it as the bloodiest (though not literally) winter of the war.
3 ADV You use though to indicate that the information in a clause contrasts with or modifies information given in a previous sentence or sentences. □ I like him. Though he makes me angry sometimes.
4 PHRASE You can say though I say so myself or even though I say it myself when you are praising yourself or something you have done, but do not want to sound too proud. [mainly SPOKEN ] □ I'm a good cook, though I say it myself.
5 as though → see as ➋