intensive adj

1 characterized by a high degree or intensity; often used as a combining form; "the questioning was intensive"; "intensive care"; "research-intensive"; "a labor-intensive industry"

2 tending to give force or emphasis; "an intensive adverb"

3 of agriculture; intended to increase productivity of a fixed area by expending more capital and labor; "intensive agriculture"; "intensive conditions" [ant: extensive] n : a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies; "`up' in `finished up' is an intensifier"; "`honestly' in `I honestly don't know' is an intensifier" [syn: intensifier]

English

Etymology

Existing since , borrowed via from intensivus, from intendere.

Pronunciation

• /ɪnˈtɛnsɪv/

Adjective

1. Thorough, to a great degree, with intensity.

   She was moved to the intensive care unit of the hospital.

2. Demanding, requiring a great amount.

   This job is difficult because it is so labour-intensive.

Related terms

• intense

Noun

1. Form of a word is one which denotes stronger or more forceful action as compared with the root on which the intensive is built.

Italian

Adjective

intensive p

In grammar, an intensive form of a word is one which denotes stronger or more forceful action as compared with the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are usually lexical formations, but there may be a regular process for forming intensives from a base root. Intensive formations, for example, existed in Proto-Indo-European, and in many of the Semitic languages.

In Classical Arabic, Form II (faʿʿal-a) can form intensives, in addition to causatives; while form IV (afʿal-a) forms only causitives. Hebrew has a similar distinction between the "pi`el" (intensive) and "hiph`il" (causative) binyans. Some Germanic languages have intensive prefixes or particles that can be attached to verbs; consider German zer-, which adds the meaning of "... into pieces", e.g. reißen "to rip" zerreißen "to rip to pieces".

Latin had verbal prefixes e- and per- that could be more or less freely added onto any verb and variously added such meanings as "to put a great deal of effort into doing something". When the same prefixes (per especially) were added onto adjectives, the resulting meaning was "very X" or "extremely X".

absolute, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-out, all-pervading, born, broad-based, clean, clear, comprehensive, concentrated, congenital, consummate, deep, deep-dyed, downright, dyed-in-the-wool, egregious, exhaustive, hard, intense, intensified, omnibus, omnipresent, out-and-out, outright, perfect, pervasive, plain, plumb, profound, pure, radical, regular, sheer, straight, sweeping, thorough, thoroughgoing, through-and-through, total, ubiquitous, unconditional, universal, unmitigated, unqualified, unreserved, unrestricted, utter, veritable, wholesale