dense

American  

[dens] / dɛns /

adjective

• denser,
  comparative
• densest
  superlative

1. 

   having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact.

   a dense forest;

   dense population.

   Synonyms:

   impenetrable, teeming

2. stupid; slow-witted; dull.

3. intense; extreme.

   dense ignorance.

4. relatively opaque; transmitting little light, as a photographic negative, optical glass, or color.

5. difficult to understand or follow because of being closely packed with ideas or complexities of style.

   a dense philosophical essay.

6. Mathematics. of or relating to a subset of a topological space in which every neighborhood of every point in the space contains at least one point of the subset.

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dense British  

/ dɛns /

adjective

1. thickly crowded or closely set

   a dense crowd

2. thick; impenetrable

   a dense fog

3. physics having a high density

4. stupid; dull; obtuse

5. (of a photographic negative) having many dark or exposed areas

6. (of an optical glass, colour, etc) transmitting little or no light

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• denseness
  noun
• nondenseness
  noun
• superdense
  adjective
• ultradense
  adjective
• densely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• denser
  comparative
• densest
  superlative

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Etymology

Origin of dense

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin dēnsus “thick”; cognate with Greek dasýs

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Explanation

When woods are dense, the trees grow close together. When fog is dense, you can't see through it. And if someone calls you dense, they think nothing can get into your thick skull. Dense comes from the Latin densus which means thick and cloudy. In general, the word means packed tight and gives the sense that something is difficult to get through. Text can be dense in two different ways: when the words are packed closely together on the page, and when the text is filled with big words and complicated thoughts. Either way, reading dense text is just no fun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dense denser densest

The overwhelming contribution from Earth's atmosphere was particularly surprising because the storm had been triggered by dense streams of material arriving from the Sun.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2026

A teenager missing for six days in dense Australian bushland has been found alive.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

But some analysts suggest the figure could be much higher, given difficulties counting people scattered throughout the nation's dense forests and rugged hills.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

The recall follows reports that the Tractor Wheels bars can quickly form into a dense, dry and sticky mass during consumption, according to the company’s announcement on the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

Caputo quickly moved his men out of the open space and under the dense forest canopy.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

In the coolest of these stars, atmospheric material can reach densities of approximately 1 gram per cubic centimeter, comparable to water and millions of times denser than the Sun's visible surface, known as the photosphere.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

ChangXin Memory Technologies recently announced progress in its efforts to make denser chips.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Robinson said combining its global multimodal platform with RXO’s North American brokerage, expedited and last-mile capabilities will allow the combined company to provide a more tailored offering for customers across a larger and denser network.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Together, these materials appear to produce a denser and more durable cement-based matrix.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

As I took a step back, the floor rolled beneath me, and the air grew denser, stifling.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Trace that hazy glow toward its densest region, and you will be looking in the direction of the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

We walk Sham Shui Po, once among the city’s densest working-class food neighborhoods.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Skid Row, an area in downtown Los Angeles, has the densest concentration of homeless people in the county.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Black ones hold crude oil as well as the "heaviest" or densest products like bitumen.

From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026

The earliest and most intensive food production, and the densest populations, of Greater Australia arose in the highland valleys of New Guinea at altitudes between 4,000 and 9,000 feet above sea level.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid

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