ə̇n.ˈten(t)səd.ē, -ətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: intense + -ity
1. : the quality or state of being intense: as
a. : extreme or very high degree : extreme strength, force, or energy
the intensity of the sun's rays
the intensity and accuracy of this fire — S.L.A.Marshall
strikingly signalizes the intensity of the hope — Bernard De Voto
rains of unparalleled intensity — W.E.Swinton
b. : extreme depth of feeling : passionate quality : extreme sensibility
her intensity , which would leave no emotion on a normal plane — D.H.Lawrence
the most striking feature … is the intensity of his nature — R.A.Hall b.1911
instinctively kept to intensity , knowing that without passion no art can live — Louise Bogan
c. : the quality of aesthetic or intellectual emotion or excitement : compactness of artistic statement or expression : artistic tension
lacks the intensity and the profundity that the greatest poetry has — R.A.Hall b.1911
with intensity the poem may survive anything — even archaic language — J.P.Bishop
compressed into poetic intensity … instead of sprawling forth sloppy, formless, and diffuse — Peter Viereck
a painting of dramatic intensity
impress their poetry with density and intensity , cutting out irrelevancies and long-windedness — Mary M.Colum
d. : depth of conviction
his voice was hoarse with the intensity of his belief — Irwin Shaw
e. : strenuousness of effort or application : energy
the campaign was waged with great intensity by both parties
2. : the degree or amount of a quality or condition: as
a. : the relative loudness or softness of a tone or a tonal effect
b. : the energy with which air is propelled through the vocal tract in articulating : loudness
c. : a specified measure of the effect of certain physical agencies expressed as the magnitude of force or energy per unit (as of surface, charge, or mass) — see electric intensity , gravitational intensity , luminous intensity , magnetic intensity , radiant intensity , sound intensity ; compare luminous-flux density , radiant-flux density
d. : saturation 4a
e. : a measure of the magnitude of an earthquake
f. : intensive quality : intensiveness
carried on agriculture with varying degrees of intensity — A.C.Parker
g. : the vivacity or strength of a sensation
his shame reached a high degree of intensity
h. : cultural vigor especially of a primitive people as expressed in quantity of cultural content and complexity and interrelations of cultural patterns
a contrast in the … intensity of cultural systems — E.H.Spicer
3. : an instance of intense quality, condition, or experience
the intensities, the moments of feeling and depths of experience that constitute the fundamental part of living — Leon Edel