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Synonyms

expansive

American  
[ik-span-siv] / ɪkˈspæn sɪv /

adjective

  1. having a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive.

    expansive mountain scenery.

  2. (of a person's character or speech) effusive, unrestrained, free, or open.

    Our expansive host welcomed us warmly.
    Synonyms:
    gushing, gushy, unreserved, genial, outgoing, extroverted, sociable

  3. tending to expand or capable of expanding.

  4. causing expansion.

    the expansive force of heat.

  5. working by expansion, as an engine.

  6. Psychiatry. marked by an abnormal euphoric state and by delusions of grandeur.

expansive British  
/ ɪkˈspænsɪv /

adjective

  1. able or tending to expand or characterized by expansion

  2. wide; extensive

  3. friendly, open, or talkative

    an expansive person

  4. grand or extravagant

    an expansive way of life

  5. psychiatry lacking restraint in the expression of feelings, esp in having delusions of grandeur or being inclined to overvalue oneself or one's work

"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

Other Word Forms

  • expansively adverb
  • expansiveness noun
  • nonexpansive adjective
  • nonexpansiveness noun
  • overexpansive adjective
  • overexpansiveness noun
  • unexpansive adjective
  • unexpansiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of expansive

First recorded in 1645–55; expans(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Dry spices scattered into cream taste dusty; spices warmed in fat become aromatic, expansive.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2026

We tried reshaping our marriage into something more expansive.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Omri Ben-Shahar, a law professor at the University of Chicago, said the verdicts reflect an expansive view on tech companies’ liability for their products.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

One major reason for the expansive search is that the shale boom that turned the U.S. into the world’s largest oil producer could be slowing.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Understand that restrained is usually better than expansive and that unhinged almost never works.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.