intensity

[ in-ten-si-tee ]

noun

, plural in·ten·si·ties.

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

/ 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. (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 I
4. Also calledearthquake 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 Words From

• over·in·tensi·ty noun
• super·in·tensi·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of intensity¹

First recorded in 1655–65; intense + -ity

Example Sentences

This model effectively captured intensity variations from different scanning parameters and identified complex correlations with abnormality types by decoupling spatial features from each MRI sequence, leading to high classification accuracy.

From Science Daily

Doing this under conditions of changing light colour and intensity, they could follow exactly what the cell's chloroplast was doing.

From Science Daily

“His performances were characterised by an impeccable technique, dramatic intensity, and an innate musicality that made him a true artist of the stage,”the Mariinsky said Monday.

From Los Angeles Times

And they determined the lowest intensity of light needed to change the electrical activity of the neurons in live brain slices.

From Science Daily

“Numerous flash floods, hazardous travel, power outages, and tree damage can be expected as the storm reaches max intensity” on Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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