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

---

copious British  

/ ˈkəʊpɪəs /

adjective

1. abundant; extensive in quantity

2. having or providing an abundant supply

3. full of words, ideas, etc; profuse

---

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

Johnson said the bill was meant to curtail malicious records requests, which do happen, where a citizen goes after copious amounts of records just to be a jerk and cost the government time and money.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 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

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

More than four years ago, the whistleblower told me the programme was flawed and their spreadsheets and copious amount of digging into records proved that.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

Readers will also thank a writer for the copious use offor example, as in, and such as, because an explanation without an example is little better than no explanation at all.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• ample
• extensive