extensive
Americanadjective
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an extensive area.
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covering or extending over a great area.
extensive travels.
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far-reaching; comprehensive; thorough.
extensive knowledge.
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an extensive journey.
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great in amount, number, or degree.
an extensive fortune; extensive political influence.
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of or having extension.
Space is extensive, time durational.
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noting or pertaining to a system of agriculture involving the use or cultivation of large areas of land with a minimum of labor and expense (intensive ).
adjective
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having a large extent, area, scope, degree, etc; vast
extensive deserts
an extensive inheritance
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widespread
extensive coverage in the press
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agriculture involving or farmed with minimum expenditure of capital or labour, esp depending on a large area of land Compare intensive
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physics of or relating to a property, measurement, etc, of a macroscopic system that is proportional to the size of the system Compare intensive
heat is an extensive property
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logic
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of or relating to logical extension
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(of a definition) in terms of the objects to which the term applies rather than its meaning
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Other Word Forms
- extensively adverb
- extensiveness noun
- extensivity noun
- nonextensive adjective
- nonextensiveness noun
- preextensive adjective
Etymology
Origin of extensive
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin extēnsīvus, equivalent to Latin extēns(us) (past participle of extendere “to stretch out”) + -īvus adjective suffix; extend, -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Each species on Earth can trace its roots back to the same cluster of ancestral organisms and occupies a distinct position on a single, complex, prolifically branching, unfathomably extensive and largely invisible tree of life.
They began an extensive tour that year, billed as the Blue Note Quintet.
He has not been seen or heard from since despite "extensive inquiries", and the cold weather is increasing fears for his welfare.
From BBC
This included breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, damage to nerve fibers, chronic inflammation, reduced formation of new neurons in the hippocampus, weakened communication between brain cells, and extensive oxidative damage.
From Science Daily
After extensive rehearsals that continued throughout production, Fastvold shot the film in Budapest.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
