Intensity

How to spell intensity

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce intensity

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does intensity mean?

1. nounThe quality of being extreme in strength, degree, or force.

Intensity in a sentence

• The intensity of the storm forced the airline to cancel every flight.

• She trained with such intensity that her coach told her to rest.

Where does intensity come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb intendere, which literally meant 'to stretch toward' or 'to strain', built from the prefix in- 'toward' and tendere 'to stretch'. From this came the adjective intensus, the past participle, describing something stretched tight or strained, and so figuratively something strong or extreme. Medieval Latin formed the noun intensitas to name the quality of being stretched tight or strong, and English took the word in through French in the early 1600s. The same tendere root sits behind a whole family of familiar words such as tension, tend, extend, and intend, all carrying that idea of stretching or straining. Keeping the 's' in mind via its relative 'tense' helps, since the spelling never uses a 'c'.

How the word is built

• in- (toward)
• tens (from Latin tendere: to stretch)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix)