dense

[dens]

adjective

denser, densest 

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.

dense

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dense¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dense¹

C15: from Latin densus thick; related to Greek dasus thickly covered with hair or leaves

Example Sentences

Boko Haram has used the country’s dense northern forests to avoid detection by government forces, spreading themselves out in small groups across vast areas.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

These dense, cooler clumps of gas contain tiny dust particles that block the starlight from behind, creating dramatic shadowy features.

Read more on Science Daily

My wife wasn’t too thrilled with the golden rum cake, since it’s nothing like the dense dark rum cake she grew up with, but I loved it!

Read more on Salon

It had rolling lawns and flower gardens and dense wooded areas.

Read more on Literature

The planet's powerful gravity can pull fragments together, creating dense groupings -- much like swirling gold particles collecting in a prospector's pan.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• heavy 
• impenetrable 
• opaque 
• solid