intensity

[in-ten-si-tee] /ɪnˈtɛn sɪ ti/
noun, plural intensities.
1.
the quality or condition of being intense.
2.
great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling:
He went at the job with great intensity.
3.
a high or extreme degree, as of cold or heat.
4.
the degree or extent to which something is intense.
5.
a high degree of emotional excitement; depth of feeling:
The poem lacked intensity and left me unmoved.
6.
the strength or sharpness of a color due especially to its degree of freedom from admixture with its complementary color.
7.
Physics. magnitude, as of energy or a force per unit of area, volume, time, etc.
8.
Speech.
  1. the correlate of physical energy and the degree of loudness of a speech sound.
  2. the relative carrying power of vocal utterance.
Origin
1655-65; intense + -ity
Related forms
overintensity, noun
superintensity, noun
Synonyms
5. passion, emotion, energy, vigor.
Examples from the web for intensity
  • In small doses, it can smooth out the roughest of rubs without sacrificing intensity.
  • If it did not entail the risk of being immoderate, the pleasure it procures would lose its intensity.
  • Barbarian raids began from the north and grew in scope and intensity.
  • The mystical experience is supposed to be valuable because it is a pleasant state of unique intensity.
  • More than any other form of poetry it is toned to his mood, and breathes the intensity of his emotion.
  • There is no effort to instill sincerity and intensity of conviction.
  • The storms have been growing in intensity for several years.
  • The researchers then studied the intensity of the glow coming from healthy and wounded corals.
  • In sonoluminescence, the peak intensity of the emitted light is at a short wavelength.
  • The birds attract mates by the color intensity of their feathers-a signal of their desirability.
British Dictionary definitions for intensity

intensity

/ɪnˈtɛnsɪtɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
the state or quality of being intense
2.
extreme force, degree, or amount
3.
(physics)
  1. a measure of field strength or of the energy transmitted by radiation See radiant intensity, luminous intensity
  2. (of sound in a specified direction) the average rate of flow of sound energy, usually in watts, for one period through unit area at right angles to the specified direction I
4.
(geology) Also called earthquake intensity. a measure of the size of an earthquake based on observation of the effects of the shock at the earth's surface. Specified on the Mercalli scale See Mercalli scale, Richter scale
Word Origin and History for intensity
n.

formed in English 1660s from intense + -ity. Earlier was intenseness (1610s). Sense of "extreme depth of feeling" first recorded 1830.