intensive
in·tens·ive/ɪnˈtɛnsɪv/adjective, noun
intensive is spelled I-N-T-E-N-S-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (in·tens·ive). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, intensive means “Done with intensity or to a great degree; thorough” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in intensive?
| Letters | 9: I-N-T-E-N-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: in·tens·ive |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,456th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is intensive?
Intensive appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce intensive?
- US /ɪnˈtɛnsɪv/
Intensive has 3 syllables, split in·tens·ive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-intensive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with intensive?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as intensive from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnsɪv/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of intensive
- more intensive comparative
- most intensive superlative
- intensives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does intensive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Done with intensity or to a great degree; thorough.
- 2
Being made more intense.
- 3
Of agriculture: increasing the productivity of an area of land.
- 4
Of a word: serving to give emphasis or force.
an intensive verb or preposition
- 5
Involving much activity in a short period of time; highly concentrated.
I took a three-day intensive course in finance.
- 6
Of or pertaining to innate or internal intensity or strength rather than outward extent.
- 7
Chiefly suffixed to a noun: using something with intensity; requiring a great amount of something; demanding.
This job is difficult because it is so labour-intensive.
- 8
Chiefly in intensive care: of care or treatment: involving a great degree of life support, monitoring, and other forms of effort in order to manage life-threatening conditions.
She was moved to the intensive-care unit of the hospital.
noun
- 1
A thing which makes something more intense; specifically (linguistics), a form of a word with a more forceful or stronger sense than the root on which it is built.
- 2
A course taught intensively, involving much activity in a short period of time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Intensive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does intensive come from?
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English intensive (“fervent, great, intense”), borrowed from Old French intensif, intensive (modern French intensif) + Middle English -ive (suffix meaning ‘of the nature of, relating to’ forming adjectives), equivalent to intense + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).