From Middle French dense, from Latin dēnsus, from Proto-Indo-European *dens-.

• (RP, America) IPA: /dɛns/

dense (comparative denser, superlative densest)

1. Having relatively high density.

   Synonyms: solid

2. Compact; crowded together.

   Synonyms: compact, crowded, packed, Thesaurus:compact

   Antonyms: diffuse, Thesaurus:diffuse

3. Thick; difficult to penetrate.

   Synonyms: thick, solid

   Antonyms: thin

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC ↗:

     And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.

4. Opaque; allowing little light to pass through.

   Synonyms: cloudy, opaque, Thesaurus:opaque

   Antonyms: clear, diaphanous, see-through, translucent, transparent, Thesaurus:transparent, Thesaurus:translucent

5. Obscure, or difficult to understand.

   Synonyms: abstruse, difficult, hard, incomprehensible, obscure, tough, Thesaurus:incomprehensible

   Antonyms: clear, comprehensible, easy, simple, straightforward, understandable, Thesaurus:comprehensible

6. (mathematics, topology) Being a subset of a topological space that approximates the space well. See the Wikipedia article on dense sets for a mathematical definition.

   Antonyms: meager

7. Slow to comprehend; of low intelligence. (of a person)

   Synonyms: dumb, slow, stupid, thick, Thesaurus:stupid

   Antonyms: bright, canny, intelligent, quick, quick-witted, smart, Thesaurus:intelligent

• (antonym(s) of “crowded together”): diffuse, few and far between (of things as opposed to one thing), scattered, sparse, rarefied (scientific, to describe gases)

• French: dense
• German: dicht
• Italian: denso
• Portuguese: denso
• Russian: густо́й
• Spanish: denso

• German: dicht
• Italian: denso
• Portuguese: compacto, denso
• Russian: пло́тный
• Spanish: compacto, macizo

• German: dicht
• Italian: denso
• Portuguese: denso, espesso
• Russian: густо́й
• Spanish: denso, espeso

• German: dicht
• Italian: denso
• Russian: непрозра́чный
• Spanish: denso, tupido (a forest)

• French: obscur
• German: dicht
• Italian: pastoso, denso
• Spanish: obscuro, enigmático

• German: dicht
• Italian: denso
• Spanish: (subconjunto) denso

• French: bouché
• Italian: denso
• Russian: тупо́й
• Spanish: cabeza dura, menso

dense (plural denses)

1. A thicket.