Intensive activity involves concentrating a lot of effort or people on one particular task in order to try to achieve a great deal in a short time.
...several days and nights of intensive negotiations.
Each counsellor undergoes an intensive training programme before beginning work.
Synonyms: concentrated, thorough, exhaustive, full More Synonyms of intensive
intensivelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
Ruth's parents opted to educate her intensively at home.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Intensive farming involves producing as many crops or animals as possible from your land, usually with the aid of chemicals.
Elsewhere large areas have been drained and levelled for industry or intensive farming.
...intensive methods of rearing poultry.
intensivelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
Will they farm the rest of their land less intensively?
-intensive
(-ɪntensɪv)
combining form
-intensive combines with nouns to form adjectives which indicate that an industry or activity involves the use of a lot of a particularthing.
...the development of capital-intensive farming.
...energy-intensive industries.
intensive in British English
(ɪnˈtɛnsɪv)
adjective
1.
involving the maximum use of land, time, or some other resource
intensive agriculture
an intensive course
2. (usually in combination)
using one factor of production proportionately more than others, as specified
capital-intensive
labour-intensive
3. agriculture
involving or farmed using large amounts of capital or labour to increase production from a particular area
Compare extensive (sense 3)
4.
denoting or relating to a grammatical intensifier
5.
denoting or belonging to a class of pronouns used to emphasize a noun or personal pronoun, such as himself in the sentence John himself did it. In English, intensive pronouns are identical in form with reflexive pronouns
6.
of or relating to intension
7. physics
of or relating to a local property, measurement, etc, that is independent of the extent of the system
Compare extensive (sense 4)
noun
8.
an intensifier or intensive pronoun or grammatical construction
Derived forms
intensively (inˈtensively)
adverb
intensiveness (inˈtensiveness)
noun
intensive in American English
(ɪnˈtɛnsɪv)
adjective
1.
increasing or causing to increase in degree or amount
2.
of or characterized by intensity; thorough, profound, and intense; concentrated or exhaustive
3.
designating care of an especially attentive nature given to critically ill hospital patients, typically in a special ward (intensive care unit)
4. Agriculture
designating a system of farming which aims at the increase of yield per acre by using increased labor, capital, etc.
see also extensive (sense 4)
5. Grammar
giving force or emphasis; emphasizing
“very” in “the very same man” is an intensive adverb
noun
6.
anything that intensifies
7.
an intensive word, prefix, etc.
Derived forms
intensively (inˈtensively)
adverb
intensiveness (inˈtensiveness)
noun
Word origin
ML intensious < L intensus: see intense & -ive
-intensive in American English
(ɪnˈtɛnsɪv)
intensively using, requiring large amounts of, or concentrating within itself largeamounts of (a specified thing)
energy-intensive
Examples of 'intensive' in a sentence
intensive
The training was intensive and the learning curve was steep.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In the countryside, intensive farming means fewer hedgerows and rough pasture for hedgehogs to forage and hide in.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is very labour intensive.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Britain has one of the worst records for protecting native wildlife and intensive farming is largely to blame, according to a report by conservationists.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In England, training is very intensive and very hard.
The Sun (2016)
It concluded intensive treatment makes patients 45 per cent less likely to die, surviving a median of eight years longer.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
With their focus on growth and with intensive demands on time and resources, SMEs are particularly receptive to this exciting new business environment.
Computing (2010)
Ministers are looking at how to ease the burden of higher electricity prices on energy intensive industry.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
That will be followed by two more months of a less intensive program.
The Sun (2012)
Intensive poultry farms have a bad name.
The Sun (2007)
The outdoor week is followed by a week of intensive study at a university campus.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Commercial agriculture tends to be capital intensive.
Jilbert, John Geography Basic Facts (1983)
Hospitals face a potential crisis over the limited number of intensive care beds.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Instead of booing him we should be sending him on an intensive training course.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Members will also be able to decide whether the farm should engage in more intensive production.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Her pal survived following intensive care treatment.
The Sun (2009)
They spend time in intensive care and rehab before being released back into the wild.
The Sun (2016)
These assessment wards provide intensive diagnostic facilities and prompt access to specialists.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The implementation of more intensive and modernised farming encountered the problem of land shortage.
Bramwell, Anna C Refugees in the Age of Total War (1988)
They kill by stealth in rivers that can appear clean and many are linked to intensive agriculture.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Each counsellor undergoes an intensive training programme before beginning work.
Knowles, Jane Know Your Own Mind (1991)
It is expensive and very energy intensive.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Clothes sales have turned positive in recent months after an intensive effort to make its womenswear more fashionable.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They are less labour intensive and have long lives at low recurrent cost once the initial period of capital spending is over.
Hirst, Paul After Thatcher (1989)
In a critical situation, soldiers might be deployed after intensive training.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Operation Central was challenging and resource intensive but it produced results.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
After just 15 days of intensive training you will be ready to begin your new career.
The Sun (2009)
They are resource intensive and it just won't be viable for some of the courses to continue with the student cohorts they currently have.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But the Government has resisted intensive lobbying from the Church to add theology to the list of exemptions.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
intensive
British English: intensive /ɪnˈtɛnsɪv/ ADJECTIVE
An intensive activity involves the concentration of energy or people on one particular task.
...four weeks of intensive study.
American English: intensive
Arabic: شَدِيدٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: intensivo
Chinese: 密集型的
Croatian: intenzivan
Czech: usilovný
Danish: intensiv
Dutch: intensief
European Spanish: intensivo
Finnish: intensiivinen
French: intensif
German: intensiv
Greek: εντατικός
Italian: intenso
Japanese: 集中的な
Korean: 철저한
Norwegian: intensiv
Polish: wzmożony
European Portuguese: intensivo
Romanian: intensiv
Russian: интенсивный
Latin American Spanish: intensivo
Swedish: intensiv
Thai: คร่ำเคร่ง
Turkish: yoğun
Ukrainian: інтенсивний
Vietnamese: chuyên sâu
All related terms of 'intensive'
intensive care
If someone is in intensive care , they are being given extremely thorough care in a hospital because they are very ill or very badly injured .
labor-intensive
requiring a large labor force and a relatively small investment in capital goods
capital-intensive
Capital-intensive industries and businesses need the investment of large sums of money. Compare → labour-intensive .
energy-intensive
using large amount of energy
intensive farming
farming that aims to produce as much as possible , usually with the use of chemicals
intensive training
Training is the process of learning the skills that you need for a particular job or activity.
labour-intensive
Labour-intensive industries or methods of making things involve a lot of workers. Compare → capital-intensive .
intensive treatment
Treatment is medical attention given to a sick or injured person or animal.
intensive care unit
the part of a hospital where extensive and continuous care and treatment are provided for an acutely ill patient