As ever, Tim Bowen applies intense concentration and produces another powerful Your English article.

The adjective intense has three definitions in the Macmillan Dictionary.

The first meaning given is ‘very great or extreme’. With this meaning, intense collocates with heat, cold, light and sunlight, as in ‘Festivities began in the intense heat of the midday sun’ or ‘At these altitudes the light is particularly intense’. Similarly, intense can also be used with pain or suffering, as in ‘Sufferers find the intense pain associated with the condition almost unbearable’ and 'The men had been subjected to detention without trial and this was causing their families intense suffering'. Intense also goes with pressure, scrutiny and dislike as in ‘He’s under intense pressure at work and this is making him ill’, ‘The coalition government’s policies are beginning to come under intense scrutiny’ and ‘She has always viewed joggers with a mixture of curiosity and intense dislike’.

The second meaning of intense is defined thus: 'involving or done with a lot of effort, energy, attention etc.' Examples of this use are ‘He has an intense desire to succeed in whatever task he takes on’ and ‘To play cricket at the highest level requires intense concentration and discipline’.

The remaining meaning of intense is 'feeling and showing emotions in a very strong way', as in 'Some people find her hard to get on with because she has such an intense personality' and ‘He is a rather intense person and most people can only take him in small doses’.

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