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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Yielding or containing plenty; affording ample supply: a copious harvest. See Synonyms at plentiful.
  2. adj. Large in quantity; abundant: copious rainfall.
  3. adj. Abounding in matter, thoughts, or words; wordy: "I found our speech copious without order, and energetic without rules” ( Samuel Johnson).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Abundant; plentiful; ample; large in quantity or number: as, copious supplies; a copious feast; copious notes of a lecture; copious rain.
  2. Exhibiting abundance or fullness, as of thoughts or words.
  3. Having an abundant supply; abounding; plenteous; liberal.
  4. Synonyms Ample, Copious, Plenteous (see ample), rich, full, exuberant, overflowing, profuse.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Great in quantity or number, profuse, abundant.
  2. adj. Having an abundant supply.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Large in quantity or amount; plentiful; abundant; fruitful.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. affording an abundant supply
  2. adj. large in number or quantity (especially of discourse)

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, from Latin cōpiōsus, from cōpia, abundance; see op- in Indo-European roots.

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • erinoftheyear I hate this word. It's very condescending, and it pisses me off. Aug 15, 2007

  • seanahan I hear this word most often in terms of copious amounts of alcohol. Dec 19, 2006

  • brtom Hail Son of God, Saviour of Men, thy Name
    Shall be the copious matter of my Song ...

    Milton, Paradise Lost III Dec 19, 2006

‘copious’ has been looked up 3214 times, loved by 5 people, added to 95 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 11.