Comprehensively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a thorough and complete manner that covers all or nearly all aspects of something
2. In a manner that includes all necessary details and aspects without omission
3. Doing something in a way that covers all elements and leaves no part untreated

Etymology: Comprehensively is about as plain as adverbs get: it is the adjective "comprehensive" with the suffix "-ly" added, and it means "in every detail" or "in a way that covers everything." The adjective "comprehensive" is itself built from the Latin verb "comprehendere," meaning "to grasp together" or "to seize all at once," and the sense of taking in the whole of something is what the adverb carries forward. The suffix is the more old-fashioned part. The "-ly" ending descends from an ancient Germanic word for "body" or "form," which appears in Old English as "-līċe," meaning "in the manner of" or "like." Over the centuries it wore down to "-ly," and attaching it to a word turns that word into a description of how something is done. So "comprehensively" literally means something like "in a comprehensive manner," with the body-shaped suffix doing the work of "in the way of."

Synonyms: thoroughly, extensively, thoroughly, thoroughgoing, thoroughly

Antonyms: partially, incompletely, superficially