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Thorough vs Assiduous - What's the difference?

thorough | assiduous | Related terms |

As adjectives the difference between thorough and assiduous

is that thorough is painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail while assiduous is hard-working, diligent or regular (in attendance or work); industrious.

As a preposition thorough

is through.

As a noun thorough

is a furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.

thorough

English

Etymology 1

(etyl) .

Alternative forms

* thoro

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • painstaking and careful not to miss or omit any detail
    • The Prime Minister announced a thorough investigation into the death of a father of two in police custody.
    He is the most thorough worker I have ever seen.
    The infested house needs a thorough cleansing before it will be inhabitable.
  • utter; complete; absolute
    • It is a thorough pleasure to see him beg for mercy.
    Derived terms
    * thoroughbred * thoroughgoing * thoroughly

    Etymology 2

    A disyllabic form of (etyl) .

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • (obsolete) Through.
  • * , II.xii:
    • Ye might haue seene the frothy billowes fry / Vnder the ship, as thorough them she went [...].
  • * 1599 , , V. i. 109:
    • You are contented to be led in triumph / Thorough the streets of Rome?

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (UK, dialect) A furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.
    • (Halliwell)

    assiduous

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Hard-working, diligent or regular (in attendance or work); industrious.
  • * 1831 , , The Surgeon's Daughter , ch. 2:
    • He was officious in the right time and place, quiet as a lamb when his patron seemed inclined to study or to muse, active and assiduous to assist or divert him whenever it seemed to be wished.
  • * 1880 , , Washington Square , ch. 33:
    • He died after three weeks' illness, during which Mrs. Penniman, as well as his daughter, had been assiduous at his bedside.
  • * 1917 , , "Bill the Bloodhound" in The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories :
    • A good deal of assiduous attention had enabled Henry to win this place in her affections.
  • * 2009 , Will Pavia , " Allen Klein, accountant turned manager of the Beatles, dies at 77," The Times (UK), 6 July:
    • Klein rose to prominence in the 1960s by assiduous application of accounting methods to the music industry.

    Usage notes

    * Since the 18th century, this term has sometimes carried a connotation of servility.

    Synonyms

    * meticulous, diligent, sedulous * See also

    Derived terms

    * assiduously

    References