intensive

American  

[in-ten-siv] / ɪnˈtɛn sɪv /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by intensity.

   intensive questioning.

2. tending to intensify; intensifying.

3. Medicine/Medical.

   1. increasing in intensity or degree.

   2. instituting treatment to the limit of safety.

4. noting or pertaining to a system of agriculture involving the cultivation of limited areas, and relying on the maximum use of labor and expenditures to raise the crop yield per unit area (opposed to extensive).

5. requiring or having a high concentration of a specified quality or element (used in combination).

   Coal mining is a labor-intensive industry.

6. Grammar. indicating increased emphasis or force. Certainly is an intensive adverb. Myself in I did it myself is an intensive pronoun.

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noun

1. something that intensifies.

2. Grammar. an intensive element or formation, as -self in himself, or Latin -tō in iac-tō, “I hurl” from iacō, “I throw.”

intensive British  

/ ɪnˈtɛnsɪv /

adjective

1. involving the maximum use of land, time, or some other resource

   intensive agriculture

   an intensive course

2. (usually in combination) using one factor of production proportionately more than others, as specified

   capital-intensive

   labour-intensive

3. agriculture involving or farmed using large amounts of capital or labour to increase production from a particular area Compare extensive

4. denoting or relating to a grammatical intensifier

5. denoting or belonging to a class of pronouns used to emphasize a noun or personal pronoun, such as himself in the sentence John himself did it. In English, intensive pronouns are identical in form with reflexive pronouns

6. of or relating to intension

7. physics of or relating to a local property, measurement, etc, that is independent of the extent of the system Compare extensive

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noun

1. an intensifier or intensive pronoun or grammatical construction

Other Word Forms

• intensiveness
  noun
• unintensive
  adjective
• intensively
  adverb
• unintensively
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of intensive

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from the Medieval Latin word intēnsīvus. See intense, -ive

Explanation

Intensive describes things that are extreme, highly dramatic, or just plain thorough. An intensive chemistry course meets six days a week for five hours a day. If you're in intensive care, you're getting close medical scrutiny, 24/7. Intensive is intense, which comes from the Latin for “high strung,” plus –ive, meaning “having the qualities of.” It’s an adjective that cranks up whatever it modifies. Doing too many intensive activities can make you high strung indeed, like taking that intensive chemistry class or participating in an intensive study on the effects of sleeplessness by staying awake for four days straight. That might get you put in intensive care.

Example Sentences

Her dad is 84 and her mom is 82, and McDonnel said they are perilously close to needing a more intensive level of care.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026

Brazilian Indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire, a celebrated defender of the Amazon rainforest, has been admitted to intensive care after his health deteriorated, his doctors said Monday.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

The intensive care nurse, from Bedfordshire, held an ambulance technician's hand the entire way to hospital and begged him to save her life.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

Local coalitions of neighbors are springing up in the most rural towns and counties as quiet, nature-filled lands are being replaced with loud, energy intensive data centers.

From Salon • Jun. 12, 2026

Pottery helped those Japanese hunter-gatherers to exploit their environment’s rich food resources more than 10,000 years before intensive agriculture reached Japan.

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

Related Words

• accelerated
• all-out
• comprehensive
• demanding
• in-depth
• thorough