dense

American  

[dens] / dɛns /

adjective

• denser,
  comparative
• densest
  superlative

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.

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dense British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• denseness
  noun
• nondenseness
  noun
• superdense
  adjective
• ultradense
  adjective
• densely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• denser
  comparative
• densest
  superlative

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Etymology

Origin of dense

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin dēnsus “thick”; cognate with Greek dasýs

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Explanation

When woods are dense, the trees grow close together. When fog is dense, you can't see through it. And if someone calls you dense, they think nothing can get into your thick skull. Dense comes from the Latin densus which means thick and cloudy. In general, the word means packed tight and gives the sense that something is difficult to get through. Text can be dense in two different ways: when the words are packed closely together on the page, and when the text is filled with big words and complicated thoughts. Either way, reading dense text is just no fun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dense denser densest

But some analysts suggest the figure could be much higher, given difficulties counting people scattered throughout the nation's dense forests and rugged hills.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

The recall follows reports that the Tractor Wheels bars can quickly form into a dense, dry and sticky mass during consumption, according to the company’s announcement on the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

These extremely dense stellar remnants form when stars similar to our Sun exhaust their fuel and reach the final stages of their evolution.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

This is also where fog is most likely with some dense patches possible, whereas further south it is likely to be too breezy for mist or fog to form.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

The dense iron of the locomotive rusted from his mere presence, and the paltry patches of grass shriveled and died under his feet.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

As the fireball descends into denser layers of the atmosphere, increasing air pressure begins to fracture the rock.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

A few copped to skimming one or two of the denser books.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

ChangXin Memory Technologies recently announced progress in its efforts to make denser chips.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

The researchers also pressurized the gas to create a denser stream of CO2, allowing the instrument to obtain usable measurements from much smaller quantities of fossil material.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Not a single light shone in the entire cinema, and the darkness that had settled on the eaves and window ledges seemed denser than the night.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Trace that hazy glow toward its densest region, and you will be looking in the direction of the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

We walk Sham Shui Po, once among the city’s densest working-class food neighborhoods.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Skid Row, an area in downtown Los Angeles, has the densest concentration of homeless people in the county.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Black ones hold crude oil as well as the "heaviest" or densest products like bitumen.

From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026

The foragers were there before us and they brought about dramatic changes even in the densest jungles and the most desolate wildernesses.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid

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