# intensive

/ˌɪnˈtɛnsɪv/ (US) · /ɪntˈɛnsɪv/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/intensive
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. thorough and concentrated

adjective · CEFR B2

involving a lot of work, effort, or detail in a short amount of time.

For teachers: characterised by a high degree of concentration, thoroughness, or effort within a limited timeframe.

- The students took an intensive one-week course to improve their coding skills.
- The diplomatic team engaged in intensive negotiations over the weekend to prevent the collapse of the trade agreement.

### 2. requiring much of something

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic

needing a large amount of a specific resource, like money or workers.

For teachers: requiring a high input of a specific factor or resource relative to other factors; typically used in hyphenated compounds.

- Fruit picking is a labor-intensive job because it must be done by hand.
- The transition to a green economy requires a shift away from carbon-intensive industries toward sustainable manufacturing processes.

Usage: Usually follows a noun with a hyphen, such as 'labor-intensive' or 'capital-intensive'.

### 3. medical care

adjective · CEFR B2

related to the part of a hospital for people who are very seriously ill.

For teachers: pertaining to the continuous and extremely close monitoring of patients with life-threatening conditions.

- He was moved to the intensive care unit after his heart surgery.
- The patient remained in intensive care for three days while the medical team monitored her respiratory function.

### 4. linguistic emphasis

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a word or part of a word that makes another word stronger.

For teachers: a linguistic form, such as a prefix or suffix, that serves to increase the force or degree of the root word.

- In some languages, repeating a word acts as an intensive to show more power.
- The scholar argued that the prefix in this specific dialect functions as an intensive rather than a simple directional marker.

## Examples

- She took an intensive English course this summer.
- The patient is currently in intensive care following the surgery to ensure constant monitoring.
- Agricultural experts recommend intensive farming techniques to maximise crop yields on smaller plots of land, though these methods require significant chemical and technological investment.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.