intensity

American  

[in-ten-si-tee] / ɪnˈtɛn sɪ ti /

noun

intensities plural

1. the quality or condition of being intense.

2. great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling.

   He went at the job with great intensity.

3. a high or extreme degree, as of cold or heat.

4. the degree or extent to which something is intense.

5. a high degree of emotional excitement; depth of feeling.

   The poem lacked intensity and left me unmoved.

   Synonyms:

   vigor, energy, emotion, passion

6. the strength or sharpness of a color due especially to its degree of freedom from admixture with its complementary color.

7. Physics. magnitude, as of energy or a force per unit of area, volume, time, etc.

8. Speech.

   1. the correlate of physical energy and the degree of loudness of a speech sound.

   2. the relative carrying power of vocal utterance.

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intensity British  

/ ɪnˈtɛnsɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being intense

2. extreme force, degree, or amount

3. physics

   1. a measure of field strength or of the energy transmitted by radiation See radiant intensity luminous intensity

   2.  I.  (of sound in a specified direction) the average rate of flow of sound energy, usually in watts, for one period through unit area at right angles to the specified direction

4. Also called: earthquake intensity.  geology a measure of the size of an earthquake based on observation of the effects of the shock at the earth's surface. Specified on the Mercalli scale See Mercalli scale Richter scale

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overintensity
  noun
• superintensity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• intensities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of intensity

First recorded in 1655–65; intense + -ity

Explanation

The way he stared deep into her eyes was making her uncomfortable. For a first date, this was too much intensity. Intensity is the degree, volume, or magnitude of a thing, such as fire, emotion, weather, work, or passion. Intensity is a word sometimes associated with passion, fire, and violence. It's used when discussing the level of such things as a love affair or, perhaps, a flame. For example, the intensity of the relationship between Bergman and Bogart in Casablanca was very high. Likewise, meteorologists measure the intensity of tornados on the Fujita Scale. Some things are meant to show intensity, such as performance by a great musician. Other things, such as, say, a blanket...not so much.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intensity intensities

When the information from all of these lenses is combined, the system can reconstruct a light field, which describes the intensity, position, and direction of the incoming light.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

Governor Salomón Jara Cruz, of the southern Mexican state Oaxaca, said the quake was felt with "moderate intensity" but no significant damage had been reported.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

EEA studies compare an event's characteristics, such as its probability and intensity in the current climate, to a "counterfactual" world without human-caused emissions.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

As he talked me through the call he was reviewing, he explained it was a "high intensity service user" who called as many as 10 times a day, every day, for months.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

That year the monsoon broke early with an evil intensity such as none could remember before.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

The research compared different exercise intensities in healthy older adults and found that all levels of exercise produced some fat loss.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026

The document added that Canadian natural gas “has one of the lowest emissions intensities in the world. With the introduction of new technologies for methane abatement, we will be capable of further reducing emissions intensity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Mythos — trained to perform deep, multistep reasoning at higher intensities than previous models — is exceptionally good at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 18, 2026

When China is set aside, emerging markets continue to attract capital at intensities similar to the before the Covid-19 pandemic.

From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025

In later years they change faces, places and maybe races, tactics, intensities and goals, but beneath those penetrable masks they wear forever the stocking-capped faces of childhood.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Related Words

• anxiety
• concentration
• depth
• earnestness
• emotion
• energy
• excitement
• ferocity
• fervor
• fury
• magnitude
• power
• severity
• strength
• tension
• vigor