dense

[ dens ]

adjective

, dens·er, dens·est.

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

Derived Forms

• ˈdensely, adverb
• ˈdenseness, noun

Other Words From

• densely adverb
• denseness noun
• non·denseness noun
• super·dense adjective
• ultra·dense 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

All seven worlds are almost identical to each other but slightly less dense than Earth, the team reports in the February Planetary Science Journal.

From Science News

The third planet is nearly the wispiest of the whole system, less dense than Jupiter.

From Popular-Science

The holes mean the mattress is less dense, though, and might not last as long.

From Popular-Science

In the rush to convince people that electric vehicles are a practical alternative to gas-guzzlers, most of the focus has been on boosting their range by creating ever more energy-dense batteries.

From Singularity Hub 

If you want to eat healthfully, a better approach is to prioritize nutrient-dense foods—fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, healthy oils, and lean proteins—without vowing to only eat these foods.

From Outside Online

He had a special knife designed to cut the dense loaf, and a ceremony to precede cutting the cake.

From The Daily Beast

The narrowest piece of land was at Panama, but it was covered in dense, mountainous jungle.

From The Daily Beast

For those in the dense forests, beaches, and towns of West Africa, it is a real threat.

From The Daily Beast

These days they are occasional meteorological irruptions, white river mists, not dense and toxic industrial pea-soupers.

From The Daily Beast

In the dense atmosphere of tobacco and conspiracy, one hot topic has been the death penalty.

From The Daily Beast

No trail was so obtuse, no thicket so dense that members of that regiment would not track them to their lair.

From Project Gutenberg

The road on which the Federals were marching was narrow and on each side lined with dense underbrush.

From Project Gutenberg

The advance had to be carefully made, for the country was rough, wooded, and covered with a dense undergrowth of bushes.

From Project Gutenberg

Not having completed the loading of his gun, Tom hastily rode behind a dense bush, and concealed himself as well as he could.

From Project Gutenberg

Tom jumped behind a bush, and as they passed tried to fire, but the foliage was so dense that he failed to get a good aim.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid