WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ex•ten•sive /ɪkˈstɛnsɪv/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- of great extent;
wide;
broad: The bomb destroyed an extensive area.
ex•ten•sive
(ik sten′siv),USA pronunciation adj.
ex•ten′sive•ly, adv.
ex•ten′sive•ness, ex•ten•siv•i•ty
(ek′sten siv′i tē, ik-),USA pronunciation n.
- of great extent; wide;
broad:an extensive area. - covering or extending over a great area:extensive travels.
- far-reaching;
comprehensive;
thorough:extensive knowledge. - lengthy:an extensive journey.
- great in amount, number, or degree:an extensive fortune; extensive political influence.
- of or having extension:Space is extensive, time durational.
- Agriculturenoting or pertaining to a system of agriculture involving the use or cultivation of large areas of land with a minimum of labor and expense (opposed to intensive).
- Late Latin extēnsīvus, equivalent. to Latin extēns(us) (past participle of extendere to extend) + -īvus -ive
- late Middle English 1375–1425
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged extended, large, spacious, ample, vast.
- 1, 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged limited, narrow, confined.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged parochial.
'extensively' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
AND circuit
- East End
- Messerschmitt
- Monterey cypress
- NOT circuit
- New Brunswick
- OR circuit
- Red Sindhi
- Valencia
- World Wide Web
- bristle
- brownstone
- carbon dioxide
- chickpea
- cowpea
- depth
- discourse
- disseminate
- fancy fern
- fenugreek
- frijol
- ground
- hypoid gear
- internet
- ketamine
- kiwi fruit
- knave
- luxuriate
- majolica
- millet
- munch
- natural gas
- pandemic
- pseudoephedrine
- rhesus monkey
- road warrior
- spruik
- steam
- subjunctive
- sugar
- tea
- tin
- upheave
- vacuum tube
- well-read
- welter