intension

I1N1T1E1N1S1I1O1N1
/ɪnˈtɛnʃən/

noun

Intensity or the act of becoming intense.

“the intension of a musical string”

Similar
connotation
Opposite
extension
OriginLatin intēnsiō →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nounintension (countable and uncountable, plural intensions)

plural intensions

  1. uncountableIntensity or the act of becoming intense.

    Sounds […] likewise do rise and fall with the intension or remission of the wind.

    1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC
  2. countableuncountableIntensification.
  3. countablehuman sciencesAny property or quality connoted by a word, phrase or other symbol, contrasted with actual instances in the real world to which the term applies.

    'Is a plant', 'has a trunk', 'has leaves' are intensions of the concept tree. Its extension is the set of all trees existing in the real world.

    1 more example

    This law is, that the intension of our knowledge is in the inverse ratio of its extension.

    a. 1857, William Hamilton, edited by H[enry] L[ongueville] Mansel and John Veitch, Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1859–1860, →OCLC

    Antonyms: extension

  4. countabledatedA straining, stretching, or bending; the state of being strained.

    the intension of a musical string

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny property or quality connoted by a word, phrase or other symbol, contrasted with actual instances in the real world to which the term applies.

Opposite
extension

More synonyms by meaning

nounwhat you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression

Similar
connotation
Broader
meaningsignificancesignification
Also see
connotationintensity

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinintēnsiō“straining, effort; intensifying”
  2. Englishintension

From Latin intēnsiō (“straining, effort; intensifying”), from intēnsus (“stretched”), perfect passive participle of intendō (“strain or stretch toward”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian напрежение, интензивност
  • напрежение (napreženie)intensity
  • интензивност (intenzivnost)intensity
Polish intensja
  • intensjaintensity

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

intention
Cite this entry
APA

intension. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intension

MLA

“intension.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intension. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “intension,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/intension.

Source: intension on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.