dense

American  

[dens] / dɛns /

adjective

denser, densest

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

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

Etymology

Origin of dense

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

Example Sentences

In part, that’s because more of that fiber is making its way to the dense networks within data centers, enough to soon surpass the long-haul business in terms of miles delivered, says O’Day.

From The Wall Street Journal

He was trapped at the bottom under about a meter of dense avalanche debris — which starts out fluffy but can quickly harden to the consistency of concrete.

From Los Angeles Times

Soon the fog was so dense that even with the flashlight Jeremy couldn't see more than a few feet ahead.

From Literature

We also passed dense stands of thick-leaved yerba santa, California buckwheat, sugar bush and chilicothe vines and we were treated to the squawks of California scrub jays and a red-tail hawk flying overhead.

From Los Angeles Times

The dinosaur had specialized teeth and appears to have changed posture as it grew, relying on short bursts of speed to move through dense forest habitats.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid