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comprehensive

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comprehensive
I
comprehensive W3 AC /ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪv◂ $ ˌkɑːm-/ adjective
 Word Family: noun: comprehensiveness; adverb: comprehensively; adjective: comprehensive
1. including all the necessary facts, details, or problems that need to be dealt with
   SYN  thorough:
    We offer our customers a comprehensive range of financial products.
    a comprehensive guide to British hotels and restaurants
    The following guidelines do not aim to be totally comprehensive.
    comprehensive review/study/survey/account etc
    a thorough and comprehensive review of the case
    a comprehensive study of alcoholism
   Do not confuse with comprehensible (=able to be understood) or understanding (=sympathetic about people’s problems): His report was barely comprehensible. | My parents are very understanding.
2. comprehensive insurance/cover/policy motor insurance that pays for damage whether it is caused by you or someone else
3. comprehensive education/system a system of education in Britain in which children of different abilities go to the same school and are taught together
—comprehensively adverb:
    No system has failed as comprehensively as the prison system.
—comprehensiveness noun [uncountable]
     
COLLOCATIONS
■ comprehensive + NOUN
    a comprehensive range of something The town has a comprehensive range of sporting facilities.
    a comprehensive study/survey/assessment The report includes a comprehensive study of the company’s training needs.
    a comprehensive account/report He wrote a fairly comprehensive account of the islands at that time.
    a comprehensive guide You’ll need to have a comprehensive guide to university courses.
    a comprehensive list Here is a comprehensive list of the good hotels in the area.
    a comprehensive service Our professional staff provide a comprehensive service.
    a comprehensive programme Your holiday will include a comprehensive programme of sightseeing trips.
    a comprehensive approach He promised a comprehensive approach to health care reform.
    a comprehensive picture The police still do not have a comprehensive picture of what happened.
    comprehensive information The information we have is fairly comprehensive.
■ adverbs
    fully comprehensive The report does not claim to be fully comprehensive.
    fairly/reasonably comprehensive The available data on world population is reasonably comprehensive.
    extremely comprehensive The instruction manual is extremely comprehensive.

II
ˌcompreˈhensive ˌschool (also comprehensive) noun [countable]
a state school in Britain for children over the age of 11 of different abilities:
    Kylie goes to the local comprehensive.
    Nine out of ten secondary school children are in comprehensive schools.