intensive

[in-ten-siv]

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 (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.

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

/ 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

noun

1. an intensifier or intensive pronoun or grammatical construction

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of intensive¹

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

Example Sentences

Her baby then needed to spend time in neonatal intensive care.

From BBC

The centre at Belfast City Hospital provides 74 acute mental health en-suite bedrooms, including six psychiatric intensive care beds.

From BBC

He can’t speak or write and now “depends entirely on daily, significant, around-the-clock, in-home care and intensive rehabilitation,” according to the lawsuit.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Golebiewski - who previously said he can never forgive Paterson - was able to walk into Aberdeen Sheriff Court unaided on his prosthetic legs, following intensive rehabilitation, for the case.

From BBC

Forty patients fled for safety following the attack, while 40 others, including four children in the intensive care and eight newborn babies, remain inside.

From BBC

Related Words

• accelerated www.thesaurus.com
• all-out 
• comprehensive 
• demanding 
• in-depth 
• thorough