What does "dense" mean?
A thicket.
Dense
/dɛns/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A thicket.
- Grammar: dense is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: thick, adamantine, asinine, beef-brained.
- Useful contrasts: diffuse, few and far between, rarefied.
- Usage evidence: Mr Smith lost his way in the dense fog.
How to use "dense"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dense" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dense" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dense" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dense" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dense" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "thick" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dense", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A thicket.
Adjective
- 1 Having relatively high density.
- 2 Compact; crowded together.
"The regions of densest population are the tributaries and banks of the Huai above Pang-pu and the diked areas along the right bank of the Yangtze.[…] There are four large towns—Ho-fei, the capital; Huai-nan; Pang-pu; and Wu-hu."
- 3 Thick; difficult to penetrate.
"... mantling the slopes are other still denser forests, where the Pacara (Enterolobium timbavica), Lapacho (Tecoma stans), Quina-Quina (Myroxilon peruanum), urunday (allied to the Lapacho) Quefioa (Rosacea Polylepis racemosa), Cascaron ..."
- 4 Opaque; allowing little light to pass through.
- 5 Obscure or difficult to understand.
"And if you're experiencing a weird sensation after that clip that you can't quite place, it's because it was nice! It was happy kids talking about how they're able to be themselves, and you don't usually get nice things on this show, which at this point is honestly mainly dense statistics and facts and occasional Pikachu porn!"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Such that its closure in T is T. not-comparable
- 7 Slow to comprehend; of low intelligence. (of a person)
"There are times when systems like GPT-4 seem to mimic human reasoning, but there are also times when they seem terribly dense. “These behaviors are not always consistent,” Ece Kamar, a Microsoft researcher, said."
Adjective
- 1 slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity wordnet
- 2 having component parts closely crowded together wordnet
- 3 having high relative density or specific gravity wordnet
- 4 hard to pass through because of dense growth wordnet
- 5 permitting little if any light to pass through because of denseness of matter wordnet
Example
"Mr Smith lost his way in the dense fog."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dense"?
Common synonyms include: thick, adamantine, asinine, beef-brained, beef-witted, birdbrained.
How do you use "dense" in a sentence?
Mr Smith lost his way in the dense fog.
How do you pronounce "dense"?
Pronounced /dɛns/.
Etymology
From Middle French dense, from Latin dēnsus, from Proto-Indo-European *dens- (“thick, dense”) (whence also Ancient Greek δασύς (dasús)).