expansive

[ik-span-siv]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of expansive¹

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

Example Sentences

It asked of them: How expansive could they become, and how could they translate the human experience into the form of an album?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

California has prided itself on its expansive public higher education system and its pioneering support of immigrant communities.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This would be an expensive and expansive step to improve statistical quality.

Read more on Barron's

It directs the federal government to mobilize law enforcement resources, including the post-9/11 counterterrorism apparatus and Joint Terrorism Task Forces, against individuals and organizations that fall within these expansive categories.

Read more on Salon

Units, whose prices start at about $6 million, will each feature a private pool perched on an expansive terrace.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• extensive 
• far-reaching 
• inclusive 
• wide-ranging