dense

[ dens ]

adjective

, dens·er, dens·est.

1. having the component parts closely compacted together; crowded or compact:

   a dense forest;

   dense population.

   Synonyms: impenetrable, teeming

2. stupid; slow-witted; dull.
3. intense; extreme:

   dense ignorance.

4. relatively opaque; transmitting little light, as a photographic negative, optical glass, or color.
5. difficult to understand or follow because of being closely packed with ideas or complexities of style:

   a dense philosophical essay.

6. Mathematics. of or relating to a subset of a topological space in which every neighborhood of every point in the space contains at least one point of the subset.

dense

/ dɛns /

adjective

1. thickly crowded or closely set

   a dense crowd

2. thick; impenetrable

   a dense fog

3. physics having a high density
4. stupid; dull; obtuse
5. (of a photographic negative) having many dark or exposed areas
6. (of an optical glass, colour, etc) transmitting little or no light

Derived Forms

• ˈdensely, adverb
• ˈdenseness, noun

Other Words From

• densely adverb
• denseness noun
• non·denseness noun
• super·dense adjective
• ultra·dense adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dense¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin dēnsus “thick”; cognate with Greek dasýs

Word History and Origins

Origin of dense¹

C15: from Latin densus thick; related to Greek dasus thickly covered with hair or leaves

Example Sentences

In other words, the data suggest dense forests gave way to more open grasslands.

From Science Magazine

On Friday morning, a pair of sheriff’s deputies scrambled up a hillside in Camarillo Heights after residents noticed smoke billowing out of dense brush.

From Los Angeles Times

Beverly Hills A dense concentration of high-profile places to go and things to do in the Golden Triangle certainly make this swanky slice of Greater L.A. seem walkable.

From Los Angeles Times

You could spend days under your headphones unraveling the dense weave of riffs, licks, rhythms and languages in this song.

From Los Angeles Times

The smog crisis is worse in winter, when cold, denser air traps pollutants closer to the ground.

From BBC

Related Words

• heavy
• impenetrable
• opaque
• solid