- 1very great; very strong synonym extreme intense heat/cold/pain The President is under intense pressure to resign. the intense blue of her eyes intense interest/pleasure/desire/anger Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, become, get, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … See full entry
- 2serious and often involving a lot of action in a short period of time intense competition It was a period of intense activity. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, become, get, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … See full entry
- 3(of a person) having or showing very strong feelings, opinions or thoughts about somebody/something an intense look He's very intense about everything. Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, become, get, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … See full entry compare intensive Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin intensus ‘stretched tightly, strained’, past participle of intendere ‘intend, extend, direct’, from in- ‘towards’ + tendere ‘stretch, tend’.Extra examples He was a softly-spoken, intense man. He was startled by the intense blue of her eyes. He’s very intense about everything. It was a period of intense debate. She met his intense gaze. There has been intense speculation about divisions in the party. There was an intense relationship between mother and son. We were all suffering in the intense heat.
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