expansive

American  

[ik-span-siv] / ɪkˈspæn sɪv /

adjective

1. having a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive.

   expansive mountain scenery.

2. (of a person's character or speech) effusive, unrestrained, free, or open.

   Our expansive host welcomed us warmly.

   Synonyms:

   gushing, gushy, unreserved, genial, outgoing, extroverted, sociable

3. tending to expand or capable of expanding.

4. causing expansion.

   the expansive force of heat.

5. working by expansion, as an engine.

6. Psychiatry. marked by an abnormal euphoric state and by delusions of grandeur.

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expansive British  

/ ɪkˈspænsɪv /

adjective

1. able or tending to expand or characterized by expansion

2. wide; extensive

3. friendly, open, or talkative

   an expansive person

4. grand or extravagant

   an expansive way of life

5. psychiatry lacking restraint in the expression of feelings, esp in having delusions of grandeur or being inclined to overvalue oneself or one's work

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Other Word Forms

• expansively adverb
• expansiveness noun
• nonexpansive adjective
• nonexpansiveness noun
• overexpansive adjective
• overexpansiveness noun
• unexpansive adjective
• unexpansiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of expansive

First recorded in 1645–55; expans(ion) + -ive

Related Words

• extensive
• far-reaching
• inclusive
• wide-ranging