dense

[ dens ]

/ dɛns /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: dense / denser on Thesaurus.com

adjective, dens·er, dens·est.

having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact: a dense forest; dense population.

stupid; slow-witted; dull.

intense; extreme: dense ignorance.

relatively opaque; transmitting little light, as a photographic negative, optical glass, or color.

difficult to understand or follow because of being closely packed with ideas or complexities of style: a dense philosophical essay.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR dense

1 congested, crammed, teeming; impenetrable.

See synonyms for dense on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of dense

1590–1600; <Latin dēnsus thick; cognate with Greek dasýs

OTHER WORDS FROM dense

densely, adverbdenseness, nounnon·dense·ness, nounsu·per·dense, adjective

ul·tra·dense, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dense in a sentence

In May, he published his fifth book, Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong.
Why the Keystone XL Pipeline May Not Be Built|Robert Bryce|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The plot of the film runs secondary to the spectacle, and is denser than a TED conference.
‘Interstellar’ Is Wildly Ambitious, Very Flawed, and Absolutely Worth Seeing|Marlow Stern|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
PHA, on the other hand, is denser than water, and thus sinks to the bottom.
Your Favorite Facewash Is Hurting Nemo|Alexa C. Kurzius|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The stories are denser and the first seven episodes are their own arc.
7 Things to Know About the Final Season of ‘Mad Men’|Marina Watts|March 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Denser places with bigger cities are, to put it simply, richer.
Did I Abandon My Creative Class Theory? Not So Fast, Joel Kotkin|Richard Florida|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Denser and denser the woods became until it was hardly possible to force a passage.
Gold-Seeking on the Dalton Trail|Arthur R. Thompson
It was approached through a labyrinth of streets that grew denser and darker as one neared the precincts of the club.
A Cursory History of Swearing|Julian Sharman
So they hastened, while above them the canopy of leaves grew denser, and more clouds piled across the dimming sun.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
Night was beginning to fall, and a denser shadow was each moment invading the plain.
The Border Rifles|Gustave Aimard
As population grows denser, individual freedom must more and more give way to collective restraint and direction.
The Inhumanity of Socialism|Edward F. Adams

British Dictionary definitions for dense

dense

/ (dɛns) /

adjective

thickly crowded or closely seta dense crowd

thick; impenetrablea dense fog

physics having a high density

stupid; dull; obtuse

(of a photographic negative) having many dark or exposed areas

(of an optical glass, colour, etc) transmitting little or no light

Derived forms of dense

densely, adverbdenseness, noun

Word Origin for dense

C15: from Latin densus thick; related to Greek dasus thickly covered with hair or leaves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dense

OTHER WORDS FOR dense

Origin of dense

OTHER WORDS FROM dense

Words related to dense

How to use dense in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dense

Derived forms of dense

Word Origin for dense