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

Etymology

Origin of dense

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

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

An unusually wet winter encouraged dense plant growth across grasslands, shrublands, and forest understories.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

Lee then focused on graduating early, packing his remaining coursework into two dense semesters — taking seven classes during one of them.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Analysts say China's robotics push could follow a similar path as its global EV success, with local players using manufacturing prowess, dense supplier networks and rapid product development to establish an early lead.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Legislators representing red and blue districts alike and from dense urban neighborhoods, suburbs and rural communities recognize that while opportunities for outdoor play differ by location, the need for daily movement doesn’t.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The trees were too dense, and anyhow it might look like something completely different from this side.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

The result is denser forests, more fuel on the ground, and larger, hotter fires that threaten lives, communities and the air we all breathe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Earth is much denser still, averaging 5.5 grams per cubic centimeter.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 27, 2026

The denser it is, the more dehydrated you are, generally.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

Fellow economists Marina Gertsberg, Ekaterina Volkova and I found that the disgraced financier effectively wired corporate America into a denser, more tightly interconnected network.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026

The crowds became denser, more suffocating as we approached the port.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

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

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

“Compassion,” the preacher proclaimed, is “mercy in action,” adding: “I can also show you one small rhetorical tweak that guarantees even your densest congregant won’t miss the point.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026

"You have the second densest country in the world, that has virtually uncongested streets," Harvard economist Edward Glaeser said of the city-state.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

“As you know,” he said, trying his best to turn his guts and spine into the hardest and densest of wood.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid