intenseness

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

in·tense

(ĭn-tĕns′)

adj. in·tens·er, in·tens·est

1. Possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to an extreme degree: the intense sun of the tropics.

2. Extreme in degree, strength, or size: intense heat.

3. Involving or showing strain or extreme effort: intense concentration.

a. Deeply felt; profound: intense anger.

b. Having or showing strong feeling or great seriousness: an intense writer.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin intēnsus, stretched, intent, from past participle of intendere, to stretch, intend; see intend.]

in·tense′ly adv.

in·tense′ness n.

Usage Note: The meanings of intense and intensive overlap considerably, but the two adjectives often have distinct meanings. Intense often suggests a strength or concentration that arises from an inner disposition and is particularly appropriate for describing emotional states: "He wondered vaguely why all this intense feeling went running because of a few burnt potatoes" (D.H. Lawrence). Intensive is more appropriate when the strength or concentration of an activity is imposed from without: "They worked out a system of intensive agriculture surpassing anything I ever heard of, with the very forests all reset with fruit- or nut-bearing trees" (Charlotte Perkins Gilman). Thus a reference to Mark's intense study of German suggests that Mark engaged in concentrated activity, while Mark's intensive study of German suggests the course Mark took was designed to cover a lot of material in a brief period.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

شِدَّه

prudkostsíla

intensitet

Intensität

intensité

ákafi

intenzívnosť

şiddetlilik

强烈

intense

(inˈtens) adjective

very great. intense heat; intense hatred.

inˈtensely adverb

very much. I dislike that sort of behaviour intensely.

inˈtenseness noun

inˈtensity noun

the quality of being intense. the intensity of the heat.

inˈtensive (-siv) adjective

very great; showing or having great care etc. The police began an intensive search for the murderer; The hospital has just opened a new intensive care unit.

inˈtensively adverb

inˈtensiveness noun

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Occasionally he would stop; and in the midst of a breathing stillness, that the dull but increasing roar of the waterfall only served to render more impressive, he would listen with painful intenseness, to catch any sounds that might arise from the slumbering forest.

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Muffled as the sound was by its passage through the church walls, Hester Prynne listened with such intenseness, and sympathized so intimately, that the sermon had throughout a meaning for her, entirely apart from its indistinguishable words.

View in context

Intenseness and duration are as ancient enemies as fire and water.

View in context

The number and range of characters that he has portrayed are unprecedented, and so are the keenness, intenseness, and subtilety of the analysis.

View in context

Writing in the magazine Axis in 1937, Myfanwy Evans (later Piper) described Nash's interest in 'the accumulated intenseness of the past as present', and indeed the fossil is less 'in' the shale than precipitated over it, a jarring juxtaposition reminiscent of Nash's earlier photomontaged endpapers in the Dorset Shell Guide (1936).

ROCKS OF AGES: From John Ruskin and Paul Nash to more recent practitioners, artists over the last two, cenjuries have found geology a rich seam to mine

Bright colors give a feeling of intenseness. Whereas, passive feelings can be related to black, white, blue, and pink.