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

Derived Forms

• copiously
  adverb
• copiosity
  noun
• copiousness
  noun
• overcopiously
  adverb
• uncopious
  adjective
• overcopious
  adjective
• overcopiousness
  noun

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

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

He also kept copious and documented records of the people he knew: hence the piles of emails, photos and other documents that are now in the public domain.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

And agents can run 24/7 and generate copious data, increasing demand for memory.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

India lacks such large inventories, but as prices climb, it may opt to buy the copious volumes of sanctioned crude oil currently in floating storage, mainly in East Asia.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

What he had witnessed was the harvesting of the twenty-seven-inch cyclotron’s copious output of deuterons and neutrons.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• ample
• extensive