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

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

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

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

There are copious cognitive benefits and endless possibilities for where their imaginations can run, unbound by the limiting confines of a tablet.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026

Sports documentarian Nikki Spetseris is the director here and offers up a number of historians to fill in what the newsreels and copious archival materials don’t.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Finkelstein pointed to copious data supporting the value of art, music and dance therapy for people with cognitive impairment.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

Her- schel had been misled because of the copious amount of obscuring dust in the direction of Sagittarius; he had no way to know of the enormous numbers of stars beyond.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• ample
• extensive