VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

intensity

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ɪnˈtɛnsɪti/
US/ɪnˈtɛnsəti/

Meanings

  1. noununcountable

    The great strength or force of something such as a feeling, effort or activity.

    Grammar: Normally no article: the intensity of the debate.

    Patterns

    • the intensity of something
    • with intensity

    The intensity of her anger surprised everyone.

    He trained with great intensity before the final.

    The storm grew in intensity overnight.

  2. nouncountable or uncountabletechnicalphysics

    The measurable strength of a physical quantity such as light, sound or heat.

    Grammar: Often takes of: the intensity of the light.

    Patterns

    • the intensity of light
    • light intensity

    Reduce the intensity of the lamp so the film is not overexposed.

    The sound intensity was measured in decibels.

    Earthquake intensity varies from town to town.

Word forms

pluralintensities

Common combinations

increase in intensity
The rain increased in intensity after noon.
emotional intensity
The actor's emotional intensity held the audience.
high intensity
She does short, high intensity workouts.
light intensity
Plants respond to changes in light intensity.
with great intensity
He stared at the chessboard with great intensity.
the intensity of the heat
The intensity of the heat stopped play.

Synonyms and how they differ

force
Force suggests physical power or pressure, while intensity covers feelings and measurable strength as well.
strength
Strength is a general quality of being strong, while intensity points to how concentrated or extreme something is.
fervor
Fervor is limited to passionate feeling, whereas intensity can describe anything from light to emotion.
severity
Severity is used for harmful things such as pain or storms, while intensity can be neutral or positive.

Opposites

mildnessweakness

Word family

intense adjective
very strong or extreme
intensely adverb
to a very strong degree
intensify verb
to become or make stronger
intensive adjective
involving a lot of effort in a short time

Commonly confused: intensity or intention?

intensity vs intention

An intention is a plan or purpose in your mind, while intensity is the strength of a feeling or force.

Practice

The rain began lightly but gradually increased in ___.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “intensity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words