Meaning & use
high-energy
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Full of lively movement, enthusiasm or force, and able to do a lot without tiring.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: a high-energy child.
Patterns
- a high-energy person
- a high-energy performance
Our puppy is high-energy and needs a long walk every morning.
The band put on a high-energy show that kept the crowd dancing.
She is a high-energy teacher who never sits still.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Containing or using a very large amount of energy, especially in physics or in food.
Grammar: Often used in technical contexts: high-energy particles.
Patterns
- high-energy particles
- high-energy diet
Scientists studied high-energy particles in the collider.
Nuts and dried fruit make a high-energy snack for hikers.
Common combinations
- high-energy workout
- I joined a high-energy workout class on Saturdays.
- high-energy performance
- The singer gave a high-energy performance.
- high-energy food
- Marathon runners eat high-energy food before a race.
- high-energy particles
- High-energy particles collide inside the machine.
- high-energy child
- A high-energy child may find it hard to sit still.
Synonyms and how they differ
- energetic
- Energetic describes a person or action directly, while high-energy often labels a type of activity, event or personality.
- lively
- Lively suggests cheerful and active, but is gentler than high-energy, which implies intense effort.
- dynamic
- Dynamic praises someone as forceful and full of new ideas, not only physically active.
- hyper
- Hyper is informal and often suggests excitement that is hard to control, which high-energy does not.
Opposites
Word family
- energy noun
- the strength or power to be active
- energetic adjective
- full of energy
- energetically adverb
- in a lively, active way
- energize verb
- to give energy to someone or something
Commonly confused: high-energy or high-powered?
high-energy vs high-powered
High-powered describes something with great power or an important job, not someone lively or full of enthusiasm.
Practice
The kids had a ___ afternoon, running, jumping and shouting nonstop.
Choose one answer.
High-energy describes lively, active behavior. The other options describe calm or unenthusiastic activity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “high-energy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.