extensively

American  

[ik-sten-siv-lee] / ɪkˈstɛn sɪv li /

adverb

1. so as to cover a wide range or area; broadly.

   He reads and travels extensively and is regarded as one of the best-informed men anywhere.

2. in a far-reaching, comprehensive way; thoroughly.

   All the science departments have been extensively renovated, with new tutorial rooms and well-equipped laboratories.

3. at great length or in great detail.

   He spoke extensively about the threats his daughter faces as a transgender individual.

4. to a great degree or in great amounts or numbers; a lot.

   Although the river is used extensively by boaters, no official map has been developed to show the best places to dock, things to see, and hazards to avoid.

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Other Word Forms

• nonextensively adverb
• preextensively adverb

Etymology

Origin of extensively

extensive ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

Something that happens extensively occurs in a wide or broad way — on a large scale or across a large area. When a hurricane extensively affects a state, the damage is spread over many miles. You might decide to extensively edit your anthropology paper after reading the one your friend wrote, or brag that your band will be touring extensively this summer, covering the entire Midwest. In either case, your effort is on a large scale. Extensively comes from the adjective extensive, and both words are rooted in the Latin extendere, "stretch out," from ex, "out," and tendere, "to stretch."

Example Sentences

His life has also been covered extensively in films and documentaries.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

These systems are — as has been extensively and embarrassingly documented — prone to generating fabricated citations, misreading evidentiary context and issuing confident-sounding verdicts about matters they fundamentally do not understand.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

Rumors — vague, unsubstantiated — were a source of incessant dirt-dishing among political insiders and also circulated extensively online.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Dimon also discussed extensively other issues, including AI, banking regulations and even the migration of the bank’s employees from New York City to Texas.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

Since its homeland includes the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of Western civilization and animal domestication, ancient peoples must have experimented extensively with onagers.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• broadly
• largely