exhausting
6 synonyms and 1 antonym for exhausting, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Extremely tiring; draining all your energy.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Antonyms
How to use exhausting
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
physically exhausting
mentally exhausting
an exhausting day
Etymology
From "exhaust" (ultimately from Latin exhaurire, "to draw out completely") plus the "-ing" ending.
Full origin of exhausting →Frequently asked questions
What does “exhausting” mean?
The word “exhausting” means extremely tiring; draining all your energy. In plain terms, so tiring it leaves you completely drained.
How do you pronounce “exhausting”?
“Exhausting” is pronounced ihg-ZAWS-tihng (/ɪɡˈzɔ(ː)stɪŋ/ in IPA).
How do you use “exhausting” in a sentence?
Here is “exhausting” used in a sentence: “Moving house in one day was completely exhausting.”
What part of speech is “exhausting”?
“Exhausting” is an adjective.
Where does the word “exhausting” come from?
The word “exhausting” comes from Latin. From "exhaust" (ultimately from Latin exhaurire, "to draw out completely") plus the "-ing" ending.
Is “exhausting” a common word?
“Exhausting” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.
What is the difference between exhausting and tiring?
Exhausting and tiring both describe activities that drain energy, but exhausting is stronger, implying that all of one's energy has been used up completely. Tiring can describe mild fatigue after routine effort, while exhausting suggests a more extreme or draining experience, such as an exhausting workday or an exhausting journey.
What is the difference between exhausting and exhausted?
Exhausting describes something that causes extreme tiredness, such as an exhausting hike, while exhausted describes the resulting state of a person who has been drained of energy. In other words, exhausting is used for the cause and exhausted for the effect: an exhausting day leaves you exhausted.
What are common collocations with exhausting?
Exhausting is often paired with nouns like day, journey, process, or experience, as in an exhausting day at work or an exhausting process of negotiation. It frequently appears with intensifiers such as physically exhausting or mentally exhausting to specify the type of fatigue involved.
