/ dens; NAmE / adjective ( dens·er , dens·est )
1.
containing a lot of people, things, plants, etc. with little space between them :
a dense crowd / forest
areas of dense population
2.
difficult to see through
SYN thick :
dense fog / smoke / fumes
3.
( informal ) stupid :
How can you be so dense?
4.
difficult to understand because it contains a lot of information :
a dense piece of writing
5.
( technical ) heavy in relation to its size :
Less dense substances move upwards to form a crust.
► dense·ly adverb :
a densely populated area
densely covered / packed
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin densus .