The Meaning of Dense: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know the definition of dense? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word dense, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What does the word dense mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, the word dense is an adjective that means thick or opaque. In a slang sense, it means of low intellect. Many things can be dense: dense fog, leaves in a dense forest, in mathematics or general physics to refer to the denseness of matter, dense vegetation, dense smoke, a sense optical glass that lets through little light, dense traffic, a dense philosophical essay, dense articles on classical learning, a dense movie, a dense mattress, Jupiter the dense third planet, dense team reports, nutrient-dense foods like legumes, lean proteins, healthy oils and whole grains, a dense part of the city, dense impenetrable gloom, dense thick woods, a dense aunt, dense slow students, dense dumb officials, a esense population of immigrants, dense fur, a high density or high relative density in a quantity of matter that affects its specific gravity, a dense clous of smoke, dense dark areas with a good contrast for photography, a dense heavy metal with compactness of matter, a dense glass with a great physical weight in a given area, a dense number of items at a register, density of the population, the density of a gas in a unit of volume, dense sets and more.

Many different languages also contain words that mean dense. You may notice that many of these translations of dense look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words of different languages that look and sound alike while also retaining a similar meaning. These are often formed when two words or languages have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of the word dense is provided by Word Sense but you could also find them in a Spanish dictionary unabridged 8th edition, German dictionary 7th edition, Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary Unabridged 12th Edition, or Italian dictionary 1st edition.

  •  Lower Sorbian: gusty‎
  •  Pashto: ټينګ‎ (ṭing)
  •  Turkish: yoğun‎
  •  Finnish: tiheä‎
  •  Persian: چگال‎ (čegâl)
  •  Polish: gęsty‎ (masc.)
  •  Spanish: denso‎ (masc.)
  •  Japanese: 濃い‎ (こい, koi), 密‎ (mitsu)
  •  Danish: kompakt‎
  •  German: dicht‎
  •  Latvian: blīvs‎
  •  Maori: pururua‎ (of vegetation)
  •  Macedonian: густ‎
  •  Irish: dlúth‎
  •  Portuguese: denso‎
  •  Vietnamese: đặc‎
  •  Russian: пло́тный‎, густо́й‎ (viscous)
  •  Armenian: խիտ‎
  •  Mandarin: 密‎ (mì), 稠密‎ (chóumì), 濃‎, 浓‎ (nóng)
  •  Bulgarian: гъст‎ (gǎst)
  •  Catalan: dens‎
  •  Slovene: góst‎ (masc.) ‎

See if you can figure out what languages the below words are in!

بِكَثافَه на гъсто densamente hustě dicht tæt πυκνά densamente tihedalt tankis blīvums ketumpatan dichtheid egenvekt þunnur stupido 頭の鈍い stulbs bodoh stompzinnig dum estúpido kõva peaga dense עָבוֹת घना bujan gust sűrű lebat þéttur együgyű bodoh tregur blīvums kepadatan dichtheid tetthet tebal dicht tett тъп estúpido hloupý dum αργόστροφος corto πυκνότητα densidad tihedus تراکم tyk πυκνός espeso nechápavý schwer bukas aprobežots begriff tykhovedet tirštas biezs tihedus چگالی tankumas biezums trög โง่ ahmak ความหนาแน่น yoğunluk 密集度 густота tonto gedrängt digtheid كَثافَه гъстота densidade hustota die dichte heavy mahogany furniture kompakt หนาแน่น yoğun อย่างหนาแน่น yoğun olarak 密集地 густо samþjappaður fitto kalın kafalı 愚鈍的 дурний كَثيف гъст denso hustý dicht tæt انبوهی tiheys densité צפיפות घनत्व zbijenost sűrűség kepadatan þéttleiki densità blīvi sangat padat dicht tett gęsto greek dasýs غلظت tiheys densité צפיפות घनत्व gustoća stompsinnig zbijeno sűrűn rapat mjög þétt densamente びっしりと 촘촘히 tankiai biezi احمق denso des густой hustý gost gust tät kompakthet gęstość جنگلی densidade densitate плотность hustota gostota gustina täthet digtheid كَثافَه плътност densidade hustota die dichte vægtfylde πυκνότητα densidad phys tett tępy احمق estúpido tâmpit тупой nechápavý omejen glup dum نږدى densamente compact плотно husto gosto gusto tätt torpe ottuso tupoglav ograničen 밀집한 tetthet gęstość غلضت densidade densitate плотность hustota gostota gustina densitet blīvs tykk غليظ beschränkt superl begriffsstutzig kepekatan eðlismassi densità 密度

What are synonyms and antonyms of dense?

There are many different words and phrases that a person can choose to use in place of the word dense. These are called synonyms, which are defined as words and phrases with the same definition as another word or phrase. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your English vocabulary and avoid repeating yourself. This list of synonyms of dense is from Power Thesaurus.

  •  mindless
  •  slow
  •  tight
  •  thick
  •  dim-witted
  •  uncomprehending
  •  populous
  •  imperceptive
  •  substantial
  •  half-witted
  •  congested
  •  half-assed
  •  lush
  •  solid
  •  lumpish
  •  impermeable
  •  massed
  •  thicker
  •  blockheaded
  •  witless
  •  luxuriant
  •  chowderheaded
  •  soupy
  •  moronic
  •  lunkheaded
  •  slow-witted
  •  serried
  •  simpleminded
  •  heavy
  •  lamebrained
  •  birdbrained
  •  crammed
  •  rigid
  •  unperceptive
  •  jungly
  •  slow on the uptake
  •  murky
  •  profuse
  •  dull-witted
  •  simple
  •  obtuse
  •  blockish
  •  stupid
  •  unyielding
  •  idiotic
  •  close-packed
  •  ignorant
  •  insensitive
  •  pea-brained
  •  impenetrable
  •  stiff
  •  dimwitted
  •  firm
  •  unintelligent
  •  vacuous
  •  condensed
  •  stolid
  •  opaque
  •  bovine
  •  brainless
  •  close
  •  concentrated
  •  compact
  •  packed
  •  dim
  •  abundant
  •  compressed
  •  piled
  •  imbecilic
  •  tightly packed
  •  bushy
  •  dozy
  •  foolish
  •  brain-dead
  •  muttonheaded
  •  impassable
  •  crowded
  •  closer
  •  dumb
  •  wooden-headed
  •  fatheaded
  •  cretinous
  •  compacted
  •  doltish
  •  dull
  •  rank
  •  empty-headed
  •  thickheaded
  •  daft
  •  overgrown
  •  exuberant
  •  blind
  •  thick-witted
  •  dopey
  •  concrete
  •  fatuous
  •  vapid
  •  hard
  •  boneheaded
  •  thickset

There are also many different words that have the opposite meaning as the word dense. These opposite words are called antonyms, which are another quick and easy way to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms is also provided by Power Thesaurus

  •  brilliant
  •  open
  •  thin
  •  scattered
  •  akamai
  •  artful
  •  astute
  •  fast
  •  wise
  •  penetrable
  •  perceptive
  •  insightful
  •  all skin and bones
  •  canny
  •  intelligent
  •  light
  •  brainy
  •  smart
  •  sparse
  •  active
  •  adroit
  •  agile enough
  •  academic
  •  well-versed
  •  airy
  •  shrewd
  •  acute
  •  loose
  •  apt
  •  clever
  •  advanced
  •  amusing
  •  nimble
  •  quick
  •  alive
  •  sagacious
  •  absorbing
  •  liquid
  •  almost empty
  •  facile
  •  bright
  •  animated
  •  alert
  •  agile
  •  well educated
  •  on the ball
  •  quick-witted
  •  glittering
  •  transparent
  •  sharp

Overall, the word dense (adj.) means thick or opaque. It is also a slang term for lacking intelligence.

Sources:

  1. Dense definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary 
  2. dense: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  3. Dense synonyms – 1 702 Words and Phrases for Dense | Power Thesaurus 
  4. Dense antonyms – 455 Opposites of Dense | Power Thesaurus