Definition of dense
denser
;densest
1a : marked by compactness or crowding together of parts dense vegetation dense trafficb chemistry : having a high mass (see 2mass 1c) per unit volume (see 1volume 2) Carbon dioxide is a dense gas. The cake was overly sweet and dense.
2a : slow to understand : stupid, thickheaded was too dense to get the jokeb : extreme dense ignorance
3 mathematics : having between any two elements at least one element The set of rational numbers is dense.
4 : demanding concentration to follow or comprehend dense prose
5 : having high or relatively high opacity (see opacity 2) a dense fog a dense photographic negative
densely
adverbFrom the M-W Editors
Examples of dense in a Sentence
They cut a path through the dense jungle.
a dense tangle of wires
a dense cluster of stars
That part of the city has a dense population of immigrants.
A dense mass of spectators filled the courtroom.
In the movie, she plays his kind but somewhat dense aunt.
Recent Examples of dense from the Web
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Troops long used to fighting insurgents in the jungles have struggled to rout the gunmen from Marawi’s dense urban sprawl.
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In a similar vein, the dense packing of cities raises the stakes for events like earthquakes and heat waves.
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On a recent morning, Mr. Chagua trudged through a dense rain forest of vines and tropical birds, which suddenly opened up to his coca farm.
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One video shows a small bulldozer steaming through a dense pile of fish to clear the roadway.
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Work on a big complex finally began at the Sepulveda station and some low-slung apartments were recently bulldozed near Vermont to make way for more dense units, but the area around most other stations remains unchanged—and bleak.
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To do this, some cooks simmer the ingredients together, which changes their flavors; others add thickeners like egg yolk, flour and cornstarch that can make filling dense and stiff.
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Dense woods flank the road, which is about 100 miles northwest of Washington.
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LDL comes in two forms...small dense damaging particles and large fluffy benign/protective particles and studies show that saturated fats change LDL to become the fluffy kind.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dense.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of dense
Latin densus; akin to Greek dasys thick with hair or leaves
Synonym Discussion of dense
DENSE Defined for English Language Learners
dense
playDefinition of dense for English Language Learners
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: having parts that are close together
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: crowded with people
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: not smart : not able to understand things easily
DENSE Defined for Kids
Learn More about dense
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See words that rhyme with dense Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dense Spanish Central: Translation of dense Nglish: Translation of dense for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dense for Arabic speakers
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