Word Confusion: Dense versus Dents

Plural for the noun: dents
Gerund: denting

Third person present verb: dents
Past tense or past participle: dented
Present participle: denting

• Having the constituent parts crowded closely together

[Informal; of a person] Stupid

[Of a text] Hard to understand because of its complexity of ideas

Dentist

Dentistry

Combining form:
Variants of denti-, dento before a vowel ²

Noun:
A slight hollow in a hard, even surface made by a blow or by the exertion of pressure ³

• A diminishing effect
• Reduction

[Informal] Meaningful progress

• Headway

[Engineering] A toothlike projection, as a tooth of a gearwheel or a card ⁴

[Textiles] The space between two wires through which the warp ends are drawn in the reed of a loom

A type of maize/corn with a relatively soft outer hull, and a soft type of starch that shrinks at maturity to leave an indentation in the surface of the kernel ⁵

Verb, intransitive:
To show dents ³

• Become indented
• To sink in, making a dent

Verb, transitive:
Mark with a dent ³

• Have an adverse effect on
• Diminish

They plunged into the swirling, dense smoke.

The estuary was dense with marine life.

Am I being dense? I don’t quite understand.

It was such a dark, dense novel that I knew I’d have to read it again and again.

Combining form:
“When dentin loses its protective covering (enamel), the tubules allow heat and cold or acidic or sticky foods to stimulate the nerves and cells inside the tooth, causing sensitivity.” (Tooth).

There is definitely damage to the dentibuccal.

Here’s a dentifrice with real action.

“Dentoalveolar procedures range from . . . procedures, such as simple extractions to much more complex procedures” (Smullin).

Noun:
Those dents? Tim threw George up against the wall.

It’s put dents in profits and morale.

She hasn’t made a dent in the problem.

He at least made a few dents in the work.

He found a Kobalt Combination Circular Saw Blade, a 10-inch with about 60 tooth dents.

The warp threads pass through the dents after going through the heddles and before becoming woven cloth.

Most of today’s hybrid corn varieties and cultivars are derived from Reid’s Yellow Dent.

Verb, intransitive:
Tin dents more easily than steel.

Nails dent into metal.

It became dented when Pete plowed into the side of the garage door.

Many of the cans were badly dented.

Verb, transitive:
The impact dented the car’s fender.

The caustic remark dented his ego.

The moose dropped a hind foot and dented the hood of the car.

This neither deterred him nor dented his enthusiasm.

1. ??
2. Middle English denti- is from the Latin, from dent-, dens meaning tooth.
3. Middle English designating a blow or stroke with a weapon. A variant of dint.
4. 1545–55, Middle French from the Latin dent- (stem of dēns) meaning tooth.
5. 1846, developed by James L. Reid and Robert Reid from a red corn variety known as “Johnny Hopkins” and crossed with varieties of flint corn and flour corn.