EXTENSIVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does extensive mean? 

• EXTENSIVE (adjective)
  The adjective EXTENSIVE has 3 senses:

1. large in spatial extent or range or scope or quantity

2. broad in scope or content

3. of agriculture; increasing productivity by using large areas with minimal outlay and labor

  Familiarity information: EXTENSIVE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXTENSIVE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large in spatial extent or range or scope or quantity

Synonyms:

extended; extensive

Context example:

they suffered extensive damage

Similar:

big; large (above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent)

Derivation:

extend (extend in scope or range or area)

extensiveness (large or extensive in breadth or importance or comprehensiveness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Broad in scope or content

Synonyms:

across-the-board; all-embracing; all-encompassing; all-inclusive; blanket; broad; encompassing; extensive; panoptic; wide

Context example:

granted him wide powers

Similar:

comprehensive (including all or everything)

Derivation:

extensiveness (large or extensive in breadth or importance or comprehensiveness)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Of agriculture; increasing productivity by using large areas with minimal outlay and labor

Context example:

agriculture of the extensive type

Antonym:

intensive (of agriculture; intended to increase productivity of a fixed area by expending more capital and labor)

 Context examples 

A disorder characterized by systematic and extensive loss of memory.

(Amnesia, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

An invasive adenocarcinoma of the breast usually affecting post-menopausal women, characterized by extensive spindle cell metaplasia of the neoplastic glandular cells.

(Breast Adenocarcinoma with Spindle Cell Metaplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

Children with type 2 Gaucher disease can also have extensive damage to the brain, whereas those with type 1 do not.

(Molecule may impact Gaucher, Parkinson’s disease, NIH)

Despite extensive research into the relationship between the gut microbiome and cancer, the role of gut bacteria in the formation of liver cancer has remained poorly understood.

(Study finds gut microbiome can control antitumor immune function in liver, National Institutes of Health)

Systematic and extensive loss of memory caused by organic or psychological factors.

(Amnesia, NCI Thesaurus)

Analyses of data from more than 600 overhead passes with the onboard radar instrument reveal a deposit more extensive in area than the state of New Mexico.

(Mars Ice Deposit Holds as Much Water as Lake Superior, NASA)

The signs are favourable for an extensive practice this voyage.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

In the presence of extensive damage or absence of timely repair, these checkpoint-signaling pathways may also trigger a pathway that effects apoptosis.

(Checkpoint Kinase Inhibitor XL844, NCI Thesaurus)

Despite extensive research, there are no effective therapies for preventing Alzheimer’s disease or slowing its progression.

(Study Points to Possible Blood Test For Memory Decline, Alzheimer’s, NIH)

Led by Haile-Selassie, paleoanthropologists conducted extensive analyses, and geologists determined the age and context of the fossil.

(3.8-million-year-old fossil cranium unveils more about human ancestry, National Science Foundation)