copious

[ koh-pee-uhs ]

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

/ ˈkəʊpɪəs /

adjective

1. abundant; extensive in quantity
2. having or providing an abundant supply
3. full of words, ideas, etc; profuse

Derived Forms

• ˈcopiousness, noun
• ˈcopiously, adverb

Other Words From

• copi·ous·ly adverb
• copi·ous·ness co·pi·os·i·ty [koh-pee-, os, -i-tee], noun
• over·copi·ous adjective
• over·copi·ous·ly adverb
• over·copi·ous·ness noun
• un·copi·ous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of copious¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of copious¹

C14: from Latin cōpiōsus well supplied, from cōpia abundance, from ops wealth

Synonym Study

See ample.

Example Sentences

In general, larger, lined notebooks work best for school settings where you’ll be taking copious notes throughout the day.

From Popular-Science

According to the documents, this frat house work environment included “cube crawls,” in which male employees would drink “copious amounts” of alcohol, crawl through cubicles and behave inappropriately toward women in the office.

From Time

The access granted by the Pegasus spyware appears to allow hackers to gather copious amounts of data from a smartphone without issue, according to the report.

From Time

One of the best ways to spoil your pets is by spending copious amounts of time with them outdoors.

From Outside Online

Iftar gatherings worldwide take pride in providing copious amounts of food every night for 30 days.

From Eater

His keepers fed the beast copious amounts of port, Champagne, and whiskey to pacify the persnickety pachyderm.

From The Daily Beast

After cleaning up the copious amount of blood on my body in a bathroom, I found my clothing and got dressed.

From The Daily Beast

Unfortunately, the attention to appearance also leads to copious amounts of vitriol being spewed at famous women every day.

From The Daily Beast

Throughout her career, tales of wild behavior, random sexual encounters and copious drug use have orbited her waifish figure.

From The Daily Beast

The infection can—with copious amounts of disinfectant (bleach) and meticulous attention to detail—end there.

From The Daily Beast

Dinner occurred in the middle of the day, and about nine in the evening was an informal but copious supper.

From Project Gutenberg

The sun set in a dense bank and the moment it disappeared a very copious dew began to fall.

From Project Gutenberg

M. Roland had recently been traveling in Germany, and had written a copious journal of his tour.

From Project Gutenberg

A copious Index of emblems is added, as well as a general Index to the volume with its numerous illustrations.

From Project Gutenberg

I visited one day, in Aberdeen, a restaurant where a copious repast was being served for the modest sum of two pence a head.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ample
• extensive