Expansive

Expansive is an adjective used to describe something that covers a wide area or has a broad scope. It can refer to geography, architecture, or plans that are large in scale, such as an expansive landscape, an expansive city skyline, or an expansive budget. The term can also describe intangible things, such as an expansive approach to a topic or an expansive field of study, indicating breadth rather than depth.

In addition, expansive can describe a person or mood characterized by openness, generosity, and sociability. An expansive personality is warm, inclusive, and expressive, often creating a sense of ease in social settings. The word can carry positive connotations of abundance and possibility, although in some contexts it may suggest extravagance or overreach if applied to resources or commitments.

Originating from Latin expandere "to spread out", via Old French, expansive entered English with the sense of spreading out or sweeping wide. The form is related to expand, expansion, and expansionary, and is distinct from the noun expansion and the verb expand.

In usage, expansive is most often encountered describing space, landscape, plans, or personality, and it tends to carry a neutral to positive tone depending on context. Related forms include expand (verb), expansion (noun), and expansionary (adjective).