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.

---

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

---

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

The hurricane's winds are expected to be felt further inland in Georgia, albeit at a lesser intensity, where already about 8,000 customers were without power.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

But the intensity that he brought on the screen was hard to miss and soon he landed a role in Parinda in 1989, making him a household name across India.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

At an investor event, Porsche outlined its medium-term strategy framework, centered on reinforcing its sports-car brand DNA while improving price and mix discipline, lowering capital intensity, and supporting structurally higher profitability and cash generation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

"People potentially get lulled into a sense of security when the intensity of sunlight is weak and they spend too long outdoors without adequate protection. We have shown that is a problem for skin damage."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Washington never pursued Hercules with quite the same intensity that he went after Ona.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

The comfort and springy design may allow athletes to tolerate higher training volumes or intensities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

"Both high and moderate intensities improved the composition of weight carried around the middle. Further analysis is needed of the low intensity results."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026

They had identified more than 90 hospitals exposed to shaking intensities beyond six and seven on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 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

The Betas would process less material but at higher intensities, leaving less flexibility for loss.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

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