Intensive

How to spell intensive

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce intensive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does intensive mean?

1. adjectiveInvolving a high degree of concentrated effort, activity, or force over a short period.

Intensive in a sentence

• The new recruits completed an intensive training course before their first shift.

• After surgery she spent three days in the intensive care unit.

Where does intensive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb intendere, which literally meant 'to stretch toward' or 'to direct one's attention to', built from the prefix in- ('toward') and tendere ('to stretch'). From the past-participle stem tensus came the medieval Latin intensivus, describing something strained or heightened, as if pulled tight like a bowstring. English took it in through French during the late Middle Ages, and by the seventeenth century it carried the modern sense of concentrated effort or great force. The same tendere root threads through a whole family of relatives, including 'tension', 'tense', and 'intend', which is why the spelling keeps its tell-tale 's' rather than a 'c'. Remembering that link to 'tension' is the easiest way to lock in that middle 's'.

How the word is built

• in- (toward, into)
• tens (from tendere: to stretch)
• -ive (adjective suffix: tending toward)