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

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

“Many species grow and thrive in one of the most dense urban environments in the world,” said Dana Schneider, senior vice president and director of energy and sustainability at Empire State Realty Trust.

From The Wall Street Journal

Its gravity then pulled in normal matter, creating dense regions where stars and galaxies could begin to form.

From Science Daily

The dense and heavy tropical hardwood is prized for its remarkable properties such as rot and salt resistance, as well as its beauty and as a symbol of status and prestige.

From BBC

First, the bad news: “Snowcrete” is the treacherous ice that results when rain, imprecise or nonexistent plowing and insufficient salting turn what was once fluffy white snow into a dense and dirty scourge.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid