INTENSION AND EXTENSION

in logic, correlative words that indicate the reference of a term or concept: intension indicates the internal content of a term or concept that constitutes its formal definition; and extension indicates its range of applicability by naming the particular objects that it denotes. For instance, the intension of ship as a substantive is vehicle for conveyance on water, whereas its extension embraces such things as cargo ships, passenger ships, battleships, and sailing ships. The distinction between intension and extension is not the same as that between connotation and denotation.