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extensive

adjective

Simple meaning

Covering a large area.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihkstehnsiv

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪksˈtɛnsɪv

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Having a great extent; covering a large area; vast.

  2. Serving to extend or lengthen; characterized by extension.

  3. figurative

    Considerable in amount.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Having a great extent; covering a large area; vast.

Used this way, extensive is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

extensive researchless extensiveextensive studyextensive experienceextensive knowledgeextensive discussionextensive literatureextensive scale

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • big

    Of great size, large.

  • considerable

    Large in amount.

  • wide

    Having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other.

  • large

    Of considerable or relatively great size or extent.

  • extended

    Having a large scope or range.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • extensibleadjectiveDerived adjective

    Capable of being protruded or stretched or opened out.

  • extensivelyadverbDerived adverb

    In a widespread way.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: having a great extent

comprehensivecopious

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.