intense

[in-tens] / ɪnˈtɛns /

ADJECTIVE

forceful, severe; passionate

Synonyms

STRONGEST

acute bitter deep energetic excessive extraordinary extreme fierce great harsh heightened intensified intensive powerful profound protracted sharp strong violent vivid

WEAK

agonizing all-consuming ardent biting burning close concentrated consuming cutting diligent eager earnest exaggerated exceptional exquisite fanatical fervent fervid forcible full hard impassioned keen marked piercing pungent shrill stinging strained supreme undue vehement zealous

Antonyms

STRONGEST

aboveboard agreeable bland blunt calm dull gentle ignorant indistinct kind lazy low mild moderate nice pale peaceful shallow slow soft stupid superficial unimportant unintelligent weak

WEAK

low-key

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It was an intense match between two teams who played really good football," said PSG head coach Luis Enrique.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

European automakers have been grappling with intense competition and a struggling economy in China at the same time as U.S. tariffs have added costs across the industry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

In these extreme environments, intense heat produces gamma rays that strip neutrons and other particles from existing heavy nuclei.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

Yes, some of these are companies that have dealt with intense scrutiny from Wall Street regarding their ability to compete with Anthropic’s Claude tool and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

The weight of everyone’s attention dropped on me, the intense curiosity as they suddenly became aware of an invisible person in their midst.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Vocabulary lists containing intense

Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items

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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4

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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone

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