ə̇n.ˈten(t)s adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin intensus stretched, tight, intense, from intensus, past participle of intendere to stretch out, intend
1.
a. : existing in a strained or extreme degree : revealed in the height of its distinctive character
an intense light
an expression of intense anxiety — T.B.Costain
intense cold
b. of color : very deep
dyed an intense blue
c. : having or showing its characteristic trait in extreme degree
an intense sun shone down
the moon, intense and white as the snow — Eudora Welty
intense bright frosty stars — John Masefield
d. : extremely marked or pronounced : intensive
rock alteration is intense , leaving few minerals or rocks in their original condition — University of Arizona Record
a neurodermatitis with intense itching and burning of the skin — H.G.Armstrong
e. : very large : considerable
giving off intense amounts of radiation — Arthur Charlesby
2. : strained or straining in or as if in an extreme effort : done or performed with great zeal, energy, or eagerness : highly concentrated
intense study
a pursuit of learning intenser perhaps than any before or since — Ellery Sedgwick
listened with intense attention
3.
a. obsolete : intent , bent , resolved — used with upon or about
b.
(1) : feeling deeply especially by nature or temperament : exhibiting or reflecting strong feeling or earnestness of purpose
my only love, you are so intense — Edna S. V. Millay
so intense in his moral convictions — G.G.Coulton
intense in everything he does — Current Biography
an intense expression on his face
(2) : charged with artistic emotion or intellectual excitement : possessing the quality of artistic tension
his style is intense , eloquent, personal to himself — H.O.Taylor
painted his most mature and intense work — Americas
(3) : deeply felt
a man of intense convictions
• in·tense·ly adverb
• in·tense·ness noun