intense
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
very strong or extreme in degree, like heat, pain, or light.
existing in an extreme degree; characterized by high force, power, or intensity of a physical or abstract quality.
Simple“The heat from the desert sun was so intense that we had to stay indoors.”
In context“The rescue team worked under intense pressure to reach the trapped miners before the oxygen supply became critically low.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
showing very strong feelings, focus, or serious thought.
characterized by strong emotional involvement, deep earnestness, or concentrated mental effort.
Simple“They shared an intense love for classical music and spent every weekend at the opera.”
In context“After months of intense study, the researchers finally identified the specific gene responsible for the mutation.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
describing a person who has very strong opinions or emotions and takes things very seriously.
describing an individual whose personality is marked by extreme earnestness, emotional depth, or a demanding nature.
Simple“My new boss is very intense and expects everyone to work as hard as she does.”
In context“He has an intense personality that some colleagues find intimidating, though no one questions his dedication to the project.”
Usage intense heat · intense pressure · intense enough
“It follows intense pressure on the new government over how to block the early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.”
“Competition is intense for civil service and other public sector posts, which offer job security, health and pension benefits.”
From Late Middle English intens, intense (“ardent, fervent; extreme, great, intense”), borrowed from Old French intense (modern French intense), or directly from its etymon Latin intēnsus (“strained, stretched tight; intense; attentive; violent; (rare) eager, intent”), the perfect passive participle of intendō (“to stretch out, strain”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + tendō (“to extend, stretch”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tend- (“to extend, stretch”)).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.