dense
adjective
ˈden(t)s 
denser; densest
1
a
: marked by compactness or crowding together of parts
dense vegetation
dense traffic
b
chemistry : having a high mass (see mass entry 2 sense 1c) per unit volume (see volume entry 1 sense 2)
Carbon dioxide is a dense gas.
The cake was overly sweet and dense.
2
a
: slow to understand : stupid, thickheaded
was too dense to get the joke
b
: extreme
dense ignorance
3
mathematics : having between any two elements at least one element
The set of rational numbers is dense.
4
: demanding concentration to follow or comprehend
dense prose
5
: having high or relatively high opacity (see opacity sense 2)
a dense fog
a dense photographic negative
densely adverb
denseness
ˈden(t)-snəs
noun 
Synonyms
- close
- compact
- crowded
- jam-packed
- packed
- serried
- thick
- tight
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
They cut a path through the dense jungle. a dense tangle of wires a dense cluster of stars That part of the city has a dense population of immigrants. A dense mass of spectators filled the courtroom. In the movie, she plays his kind but somewhat dense aunt. See More
Recent Examples on the Web While the light from the lighthouse tower was visible to ships and mariners on clear nights, it was often obscured by the dense, low-lying fog that blankets San Diego coastal areas. 
Helen Purcell Montag, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2022 Kobe Bryant, 41, was traveling with his daughter and six guests to a youth basketball tournament when the chartered helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, amid dense fog, killing everyone on board, including the pilot. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 Aug. 2022 Monday will start with dense fog early in the morning, which the National Weather Service warned could reduce visibility to a half mile or less in river valleys and fog-prone areas. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 22 Aug. 2022 Unfortunately, Hope and his traveling troupe were trapped aboard an airplane circling overhead, unable to land because of dense fog. David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2022 Areas of dense fog are also likely to develop, so take extra caution while traveling. Greg Porter, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2022 The helicopter slammed into a Calabasas hillside in dense fog on Jan. 26, 2020, killing Kobe and Gianna Bryant, the Chesters and five others on their way to a youth basketball game in Thousand Oaks. Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2022 After three days of dense fog that shrouded Kodiak Island, the sky cleared, and a nine-seater plane took Anastasia 30 minutes down the southeast coast of the island to the village of Old Harbor. Jenna Kunze, ELLE, 28 July 2022 Everything coexists in what feels like a physical acoustic space — rich and reverberant, but also distant, held at a remove, seen through a dense fog. New York Times, 9 June 2022 See More
Helen Purcell Montag, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2022 Kobe Bryant, 41, was traveling with his daughter and six guests to a youth basketball tournament when the chartered helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, amid dense fog, killing everyone on board, including the pilot. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 23 Aug. 2022 Monday will start with dense fog early in the morning, which the National Weather Service warned could reduce visibility to a half mile or less in river valleys and fog-prone areas. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 22 Aug. 2022 Unfortunately, Hope and his traveling troupe were trapped aboard an airplane circling overhead, unable to land because of dense fog. David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2022 Areas of dense fog are also likely to develop, so take extra caution while traveling. Greg Porter, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2022 The helicopter slammed into a Calabasas hillside in dense fog on Jan. 26, 2020, killing Kobe and Gianna Bryant, the Chesters and five others on their way to a youth basketball game in Thousand Oaks. Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2022 After three days of dense fog that shrouded Kodiak Island, the sky cleared, and a nine-seater plane took Anastasia 30 minutes down the southeast coast of the island to the village of Old Harbor. Jenna Kunze, ELLE, 28 July 2022 Everything coexists in what feels like a physical acoustic space — rich and reverberant, but also distant, held at a remove, seen through a dense fog. New York Times, 9 June 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin densus; akin to Greek dasys thick with hair or leaves
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
dense
adjective
ˈdens
denser; densest
1
: having its parts crowded together : thick
dense vegetation
dense fog
2
: stupid sense 1
I'm not dense enough to believe this story.
dense
adjective
1
as in thick
having little space between items or parts the dense soil in the garden Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- thick
- crowded
- packed
- tight
- compact
- close
- jammed
- serried
- jam-packed
- crammed
- overcrowded
- compressed
- compacted
- solid
- condensed
- congested
- massed
- crushed
- squeezed
- airtight
- pressed
- impenetrable
- wall-to-wall
- impermeable
- impervious
- hard
- snug
- firm
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- loose
- airy
- open
- uncrowded
- spacious
- roomy
- commodious
2
as in slow
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily she accused him of being dense when he didn't seem to understand her at first Synonyms & Similar Words
- thick
- slow
- stupid
- dumb
- simple
- dull
- soft
- opaque
- obtuse
- ignorant
- vacuous
- foolish
- unintelligent
- dim
- idiotic
- dopey
- fatuous
- mindless
- brainless
- boneheaded
- thickheaded
- unreasonable
- doltish
- silly
- insane
- pinheaded
- dunderheaded
- airheaded
- irrational
- bonehead
- witless
- oafish
- dorky
- senseless
- gormless
- softheaded
- crazy
- mad
- lamebrain
- thick-witted
- dim-witted
- slow-witted
- idiotical
- unsmart
- dopy
- brain-dead
- bubbleheaded
- lunkheaded
- knuckleheaded
- empty-headed
- chuckleheaded
- half-witted
- lamebrained
- moronic
- absurd
- birdbrained
- weak-minded
- cretinous
- uneducated
- uninformed
- nutty
- simpleminded
- lowbrow
- lunatic
- fool
- unintellectual
- feebleminded
- imbecile
- illiterate
- looney
- zany
- unthinking
- dippy
- sappy
- nonsensical
- illogical
- cuckoo
- preposterous
- imbecilic
- untaught
- dotty
- unwise
- invalid
- daft
- asinine
- wacky
- daffy
- boobish
- balmy
- crackpot
- kooky
- loony
- screwball
- cockeyed
- fallacious
- harebrained
- whacky
- half-baked
- tomfool
- featherheaded
- kookie
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- intelligent
- brilliant
- bright
- fast
- sharp
- smart
- quick
- clever
- apt
- brainy
- nimble
- acute
- ingenious
- insightful
- cerebral
- perceptive
- wise
- erudite
- resourceful
- keen
- astute
- intellectual
- scholarly
- sagacious
- thinking
- literate
- skilled
- knowing
- savvy
- knowledgeable
- sage
- discerning
- ultrasmart
- keen
- hyperintelligent
- sound
- supersmart
- sharp-witted
- quick-witted
- highbrow
- judicious
- perspicacious
- educated
- informed
- trained
- cunning
- learned
- reasonable
- sensible
- logical
- shrewd
- sapient
- rational
- wily
- valid
- well-read
- sane
- prudent
- crafty
- percipient
- schooled
- foxy
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of dense are crass, dull, dumb, and stupid. While all these words mean "lacking in power to absorb ideas or impressions," dense implies a thickheaded imperviousness to ideas.
too dense to take a hint
The words crass and dense can be used in similar contexts, but crass suggests a grossness of mind precluding discrimination or delicacy.
a crass, materialistic people
While the synonyms dull and dense are close in meaning, dull suggests a slow or sluggish mind such as results from disease, depression, or shock.
monotonous work that leaves the mind dull
The meanings of dumb and dense largely overlap; however, dumb applies to an exasperating obtuseness or lack of comprehension.
too dumb to figure out what's going on
The words stupid and dense are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, stupid implies a slow-witted or dazed state of mind that may be either congenital or temporary.
stupid students just keeping the seats warm
stupid with drink
- infused
- infuser
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- infusibilities
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- infusible
- infusible white precipitate
- infusibleness
- infusiblenesses
- infusing
- infusion
- infusion process
- infusionism
- infusionisms
- infusionist
- infusionists
- infusions
- infusive
- infusoria
- infusoriae
- infusorial
- infusorial earth
- infusorian
- infusorians