Which to use
“intense” and “intensive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,698
- “intense” frequency rank
- #6,485
- “intensive” frequency rank
- 10183
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intense | intensive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering. | Done with intensity or to a great degree; thorough. |
Where the eye mixes intense and intensive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: intense vs intensive
A purely visual mix-up. intense (/ɪnˈtɛns/) and intensive (/ɪnˈtɛnsɪv/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intense is recorded at frequency rank #3,698, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛns/. intensive is at rank #6,485, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛnsɪv/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 10183, this pair ranks #493,571 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intense vs intensive
Shared letters: einst. Private to "intense": -. Private to "intensive": v.
"intense" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "intensive" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "intense" and "intensive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "intense" or "intensive"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intense" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intensive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #493,571 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intense" and "intensive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "incensed vs intense". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #493,571 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.