dense

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dense

(dĕns)

adj. dens·er, dens·est

a. Having relatively high density.

b. Crowded closely together; compact: a dense population.

2. Hard to penetrate; thick: a dense jungle.

a. Permitting little light to pass through, because of compactness of matter: dense glass; a dense fog.

b. Opaque, with good contrast between light and dark areas. Used of a photographic negative.

4. Difficult to understand because of complexity or obscurity: a dense novel.

5. Slow to apprehend; thickheaded.

[Middle English, from Latin dēnsus.]

dense′ly adv.

dense′ness n.

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.

dense

(dɛns)

adj

1. thickly crowded or closely set: a dense crowd.

2. thick; impenetrable: a dense fog.

3. (General Physics) physics having a high density

4. stupid; dull; obtuse

5. (Photography) (of a photographic negative) having many dark or exposed areas

6. (General Physics) (of an optical glass, colour, etc) transmitting little or no light

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

ˈdensely adv

ˈdenseness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dense

(dɛns)

adj. dens•er, dens•est.

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

2. stupid; slow-witted; dull.

3. intense; extreme.

4. relatively opaque; transmitting little light, as a photographic negative, optical glass, or color.

5. difficult to understand because of being closely packed with ideas or complexities of style.

[1590–1600; < Latin dēnsus thick; akin to Greek dasýs]

dense′ly, adv.

dense′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	dense - permitting little if any light to pass through because of denseness of matter; "dense smoke"; "heavy fog"; "impenetrable gloom" impenetrable, heavy thick - relatively dense in consistency; "thick cream"; "thick soup"; "thick smoke"; "thick fog"
	2.	dense - hard to pass through because of dense growth; "dense vegetation"; "thick woods" thick impenetrable - not admitting of penetration or passage into or through; "an impenetrable fortress"; "impenetrable rain forests"
	3.	dense - having high relative density or specific gravity; "dense as lead" heavy - of comparatively great physical weight or density; "a heavy load"; "lead is a heavy metal"; "heavy mahogany furniture"
	4.	dense - slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; "so dense he never understands anything I say to him"; "never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students" dumb, slow, obtuse, dim, dull stupid - lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity

dense

adjective

1. thick, close, heavy, solid, substantial, compact, compressed, condensed, impenetrable, close-knit, thickset a large, dense forest
thick light, thin, scattered, transparent, sparse

2. heavy, thick, substantial, opaque, impenetrable, smoggy a dense column of smoke

3. obscure, deep, complex, profound, abstract, enigmatic, esoteric, incomprehensible, arcane, unfathomable, abstruse His prose is wordy and dense.

4. stupid (Informal) slow, thick, dull, dumb (informal), crass, dozy (Brit. informal), dozy (Brit. informal), stolid, dopey (informal), moronic, obtuse, brainless, blockheaded, braindead (informal), dumb-ass (informal), dead from the neck up (informal), thickheaded, blockish, dim-witted (informal), slow-witted, thick-witted He's not a bad man, just a bit dense.
stupid quick, bright, alert, clever, intelligent

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

dense

adjective

1. Having all parts near to each other:

close, compact, crowded, packed, thick, tight.

2. Growing profusely:

heavy, lush, luxuriant, profuse, rank, thick.

3. Lacking in intelligence:

blockheaded, doltish, dumb, hebetudinous, obtuse, stupid, thickheaded, thick-witted.

Informal: thick.

Slang: dimwitted, dopey.

Translations

بَليد، غَليظ الدِّماغكَثيفكَثِيف

hustýnechápavýhloupý

tættyktykhovedetdumkompakt

dicht dicht gedrängt schwer von Begriff

πυκνός

denso espeso estúpido macizomensa

tiheätiivishämäräpimeäsankka

dense bête

gust

òéttur, samòjappaîurtregur, òunnur

denso impermeabile sciocco densit...

密集した

밀집한

tankiaitankistankustirštas

aprobežotsbiezsblīvsstulbs

compact

tykk ugjennomtrengelig

gęsty tępyzbityzwarty

denso

густой плотный

gost

tät

หนาแน่น

sık yoğun ahmak kalın kafalı

đậm đặc

稠密的愚钝的

dense

[dens] ADJ (denser (compar) (densest (superl)))

1. (= thick) [forest, vegetation, fog] → denso, espeso; [crowd] → nutrido; [population] → denso

2. [Phys] [liquid, substance] → denso

3. [person] → corto de entendederas, duro de mollera

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dense

[ˈdɛns] adj

(= thick) [foliage, forest] → dense; [crowd] → dense; [smoke] → dense

(= stupid) → bouché(e)
He's so dense! → Il est vraiment bouché!

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

dense

adj (+er)

(= thick) fog, smoke, forest → dicht (also Phys); crowd → dicht gedrängt

prose, language, style, book, film (= concentrated) → gedrängt; (= over-complex) → überladen

(inf) person (= of low intellect) → beschränkt (inf); (= slow) → begriffsstutzig (inf), → schwer von Begriff (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dense

[dɛns] adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl))) (fog) → denso/a, fitto/a; (forest, crowd) → fitto/a; (fur) → folto/a (fam) (person, stupid) → tonto/a, ottuso/a

dense

(dens) adjective

1. thick and close. We made our way through dense forest; The fog was so dense that we could not see anything.

2. very stupid. He's so dense I have to tell him everything twice.

ˈdensely adverb

very closely together. The crowd was densely packed.

ˈdensity noun

1. the number of items, people etc found in a given area compared with other areas especially if large. the density of the population.

2. the quantity of matter in each unit of volume. the density of a gas.

dense

→ كَثِيف hustý tæt dicht gedrängt πυκνός denso, espeso tiheä dense gust denso 密集した 밀집한 compact ugjennomtrengelig gęsty denso густой tät หนาแน่น sık đậm đặc 稠密的

dense

a. denso-a, espeso-a.

dense

adj denso

References in classic literature ?

Denser and denser grows this dome of vapours, descending lower and lower upon the sea, narrowing the horizon around the ship.

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Denser and denser grew the smoke, and more acrid its smell.

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Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Angels whose faint foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

View in context

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

View in context

Here was a family where prayers came at the same hour, where the Sabbath literature was unimpeachably selected, where the guest who should have leaned to any false opinion was instantly set down, and over which there reigned all week, and grew denser on Sundays, a silence that was agreeable to his ear, and a gloom that he found comfortable.

View in context

There was evidently some vast conflagration in the direction toward which they were proceeding; it was as yet at a great distance, and during the day they could only see the smoke rising in larger and denser volumes, and rolling forth in an immense canopy.

View in context

The forms of those bodies are accurately such as, within a given surface, to include the greatest possible amount of matter; -- while the surfaces themselves are so disposed as to accommodate a denser population than could be accommodated on the same surfaces otherwise arranged.

View in context

But when the blue snow-shadows grew intenser Across the peaks against the golden sky, And on the hills the knots of deer grew denser, And raised their tender cry,

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"Besides," I added, "to fire under water in a medium eight hundred and fifty-five times denser than the air, we must conquer very considerable resistance."

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It seemed to advance and to recede as the hail drove before it denser or thinner.

View in context

The horses, excited by pain and emulation, raced over the dark road, in the midst of which was now seen a moving mass, denser and more obscure than the rest of the horizon.

View in context

At each ascent or descent of the road the crowds were yet denser and the din of shouting more incessant.