expansive
Americanadjective
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having a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive.
expansive mountain scenery.
-
(of a person's character or speech) effusive, unrestrained, free, or open.
Our expansive host welcomed us warmly.
- Synonyms:
- gushing, gushy, unreserved, genial, outgoing, extroverted, sociable
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causing expansion.
the expansive force of heat.
-
working by expansion, as an engine.
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Psychiatry. marked by an abnormal euphoric state and by delusions of grandeur.
adjective
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able or tending to expand or characterized by expansion
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wide; extensive
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friendly, open, or talkative
an expansive person
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grand or extravagant
an expansive way of life
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psychiatry lacking restraint in the expression of feelings, esp in having delusions of grandeur or being inclined to overvalue oneself or one's work
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of expansive
First recorded in 1645–55; expans(ion) + -ive
Explanation
Expansive is all about being able to grow or get larger. An expansive piece of land is large, an expansive mind is one that is always thinking of the big picture, an expansive vocabulary is one that holds lots of words. Warning: don't confuse expansive, "large," with expensive, "high priced." They differ by only one letter but mean very different things. A Big Mac may contain what McDonald's advertizes as an expansive all-beef patty, but it isn't expensive food.
Vocabulary lists containing expansive
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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This Week in Pop Culture: November 3 - 9, 2018
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Vocabulary from "John L. O'Sullivan on 'Manifest Destiny' " from 1839
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We’re investing in our own stock because we believe it is undervalued,” he told The Times in an interview at his office, which has floor-to-ceiling windows that give an expansive view of El Segundo.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
"I think it's pretty clear that there's an intent to be more expansive and more accurate," Tigers and England full-back Freddie Steward told BBC Radio Leicester.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
The duo bought the expansive dwelling for $12.5 million via a trust linked to the musician’s longtime business manager—however they sold it for the much higher price of $14.4 million just over one year later.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026
The most important quality in an applicant was an expansive sense of possibility.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Colonel Meecham walked into the alcove red-faced, expansive, and massive.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
