extensive

UK/ɪkˈstɛn.sɪv/US/ɪkˈstɛn.sɪv/

adjectiveB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,300 of 15,258mostly written

Extensive means covering a large area or a wide range. Extensive damage, extensive research, extensive experience.

In farming it is a technical opposite of intensive: extensive farming uses much land and few inputs per acre, and intensive does the reverse. Elsewhere the word simply means a lot, and it is one of the commonest ways of saying so in formal writing.

Definitions of extensive

1adjectiveextensiveCovering a large area or a wide range.B2
“The storm caused extensive damage to houses along the coast.”

extensive is a quality of size.

Where it comes from

Latin extensivus comes from extendere, to stretch out — ex plus tendere, to stretch. Tension and tent are relatives.

Latin
extensīvus
Middle English
extensive
English, today
extensive

From Middle English extensive, from Latin extensīvus. From late Middle English -, borrowed from Latin extensīvus, from Latin extensus.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

extensive in the wild

For example, the square root of the volume is neither intensive nor extensive.
Intensive and extensive properties
The distinction between intensive and extensive properties has some theoretical uses.
Intensive and extensive properties
Morgan, who were known for their extensive book collections.
Bookworm
The oldest records in the database date back to 1703, reflecting its extensive historical scope.
Tropicos
The route was closed in 2006 after damage to the track due to extensive flooding.
Torra Tigga railway station

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the extensīvus family

extensive extensively

extensive — used about once every 897 pages · #4,300 · point at the bar for the others

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