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dense

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The definition of dense is people or things which are crowded together, something that is difficult to get through or someone who is slow to understand.

(adjective)

An example of dense is a city where a lot of people live in a very small area.
An example of dense is a thick jungle.
An example of dense is someone who doesn't understand what "turn left" means.

See dense in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective denser, densest

having the parts crowded together; packed tightly together; compact
difficult to get through, penetrate, etc.: a dense fog, dense ignorance
slow to understand; stupid
Photog. opaque due to a heavy concentration of metallic silver: said of an overexposed or overdeveloped negative

Origin: ME < L densus, compact < IE base *dens-, thick > Gr dasys, thick (used of hair), Hittite dassuš, strong

Related Forms:

densely adverb
denseness noun

See dense in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective dens·er, dens·est

a. Having relatively high density.
b. Crowded closely together; compact: a dense population.
Hard to penetrate; thick: a dense jungle.
a. Permitting little light to pass through, because of compactness of matter: dense glass; a dense fog.
b. Opaque, with good contrast between light and dark areas. Used of a photographic negative.
Difficult to understand because of complexity or obscurity: a dense novel.
Slow to apprehend; thickheaded.