Get to the Point

I Donโ€™t Know What This Word Means: Is This Post Expansive or Extensive?

By Theda C. Snyder

Wait: Do โ€œexpansiveโ€ and โ€œextensiveโ€ mean the same thing? Which word is the better choice in legal contexts? Letโ€™s investigate.

expansive or extensive

Expansive. I thought it meant growing larger, as in something is expanding. But apparently now it just means โ€œbig.โ€ The word can also describe a generous, welcoming personality.

Is this word in your working vocabulary?

โ€œExpansiveโ€ pops up frequently in all sorts of legal writing from website verbiage (โ€œour expansive physical injury practiceโ€) to statements of facts in appellate briefs. I never see plain old โ€œbigโ€ anymore. I frequently see references to a physical space described as expansive. Was that room getting bigger? You mean it was spacious.

Letโ€™s investigate.

Way Back When

The word derives from the Latin expandere, meaning to spread out. By the 1650s, the English word was used to mean โ€œtending to expand.โ€ By 1813, the usage meant comprehensive, embracing a large number of particulars.

My Dictionary Is Old

My 1988 physical dictionary sticks with โ€œcapable of expanding or tending to expandโ€ as the primary definition. โ€œExpand,โ€ of course, is defined as โ€œto increase in volume, size, or scope.โ€ As in 1813, the secondary definition of expansive is โ€œbroad or comprehensive.โ€ 

Dictionary.com switches the emphasis of those definitions. There, the primary definition is โ€œhaving a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive.โ€

Wait. What? Do โ€œexpansiveโ€ and โ€œextensiveโ€ mean the same thing?

Maybe You Meant โ€œExtensiveโ€

Extensive means vast or far-reaching. The first use of the word can be traced to around 1600 to refer to immaterial things such as extensive knowledge. By 1700, the word was used to also describe material things stretching out or spreading. Gee, that sounds the same as expand. Synonyms include large, vast, ample and spacious.

The Britannica Dictionary defines extensive as large in size or amount: very full or complete. The dictionary provides these examples:

  • An extensive [=comprehensive] reading list
  • Heโ€™s had extensive [=considerable] training in this area.
  • The storm caused extensive damage.
  • Extensive repairs
  • An extensive series of tests

Interestingly, none of these examples refers to expansion of a physical thing.

In the Immortal Words of Shania Twain

Words have specific meanings; people who use them correctly are powerful communicators. Writers and speakers who use a three-syllable word when a plainer one will do donโ€™t impress me much.

If you mean โ€œbig,โ€ โ€œlargeโ€ or โ€œspacious,โ€ say that. When I hear or read โ€œexpansive,โ€ I never know what the user is trying to say. Unless the thing youโ€™re talking about is getting bigger, avoid describing it as โ€œexpansive.โ€

In many situations, โ€œextensiveโ€ is the better choice. When lawyers mean comprehensive or thorough, they mean extensive, not expansive.

Perhaps you did deep-dive research into a rapidly changing subject. You could accurately describe your research of the expansive subject as extensive.

Order of Adjectives

More Writing Tips

Find more good ideas for improving your legal writing and communications skills in “Get to the Point” by Teddy Snyder.

Photo by iStockphoto

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Teddy Snyder Theda C. Snyder

Theda โ€œTeddyโ€ Snyder mediates civil disputes, workersโ€™ compensation and insurance coverage cases, including COVID-19 related coverage disputes, in person or by video. Teddy has practiced in a variety of settings and frequently speaks and writes about settlements and the business of law. She was a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and is the author of four ABA books, including โ€œWomen Rainmakersโ€™ Best Marketing Tips, 4th Editionโ€ as well as โ€œPersonal Injury Case Evaluationโ€ available on Amazon.com. Based in Los Angeles, Teddy can be found at SnyderMediations.com and on Twitter @SnyderMediation.

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