Wait: Do โexpansiveโ and โextensiveโ mean the same thing? Which word is the better choice in legal contexts? Letโs investigate.

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Expansive. I thought it meant growing larger, as in something is expanding. But apparently now it just means โbig.โ The word can also describe a generous, welcoming personality.
Is this word in your working vocabulary?
โExpansiveโ pops up frequently in all sorts of legal writing from website verbiage (โour expansive physical injury practiceโ) to statements of facts in appellate briefs. I never see plain old โbigโ anymore. I frequently see references to a physical space described as expansive. Was that room getting bigger? You mean it was spacious.
Letโs 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 โtending 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 โcapable of expanding or tending to expandโ as the primary definition. โExpand,โ of course, is defined as โto increase in volume, size, or scope.โ As in 1813, the secondary definition of expansive is โbroad or comprehensive.โ
Dictionary.com switches the emphasis of those definitions. There, the primary definition is โhaving a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive.โ
Wait. What? Do โexpansiveโ and โextensiveโ mean the same thing?
Maybe You Meant โExtensiveโ
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
- Heโs 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 donโt impress me much.
If you mean โbig,โ โlargeโ or โspacious,โ say that. When I hear or read โexpansive,โ I never know what the user is trying to say. Unless the thing youโre talking about is getting bigger, avoid describing it as โexpansive.โ
In many situations, โextensiveโ 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.
More Writing Tips
Find more good ideas for improving your legal writing and communications skills in “Get to the Point” by Teddy Snyder.
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