copious

American  

[koh-pee-uhs] / ˈkoʊ pi əs /

adjective

1. 

   large in quantity or number; abundant; plentiful.

   copious amounts of food.

   Synonyms:

   bountiful

   Antonyms:

   scarce, scanty

2. having or yielding an abundant supply.

   a copious larder;

   a copious harvest.

3. exhibiting abundance or fullness, as of thoughts or words.

   Antonyms:

   meager

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copious British  

/ ˈkəʊpɪəs /

adjective

1. abundant; extensive in quantity

2. having or providing an abundant supply

3. full of words, ideas, etc; profuse

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Synonym Usage

See ample.

Other Word Forms

• copiosity
  noun
• copiousness
  noun
• overcopiousness
  noun
• overcopious
  adjective
• uncopious
  adjective
• copiously
  adverb
• overcopiously
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of copious

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin cōpiōsus “plentiful, rich,” from cōpi(a) “wealth” (from co- co- + op(s) “plenty, power, support” + -ia -ia ) + -ōsus -ous

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Explanation

If you have a copious amount of something, you have a lot of it. If you take copious notes, you'll do well when it comes time for review sessions — unless you can't read your own handwriting. Copious comes from the Latin copia, meaning "abundance." You can use copious for something quantitative, like your copious admirers, or for something qualitative, like the copious gratitude you feel for your admirers. You will often see the word amounts following copious since the adjective is often used to modify a measurement of something — like copious amounts of coffee or copious amounts of hair gel.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

copious

Investors are grappling with the possibility that the copious investment dollars poured into chips and hardware could dry up.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Readers might thus reasonably expect to find a slew of books exploring this interconnection in copious historical detail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Before going on a red carpet, she does copious amounts of research.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The copious water needed to put out the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights over a week is now running into the LA River.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Transmission was dependent on spark-gap generators that operated at low power, produced copious interference, and failed utterly in damp conditions.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

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Related Words

• ample
• extensive

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