Basic Details
Word: Extent
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: How large, long or far something is, or how much of it there is; also the degree to which something is true, as in 'to some extent'.
Synonyms: size, scale, degree, range
Sounds like: extend (a verb meaning to make longer or larger); extant (still existing, as in the oldest extant manuscript)
How to Spell Extent
Syllables: ex - tent
Tricky part: It ends in tent, not tend or tant. Students mix it up with the verb extend and with the rare word extant.
Watch out for: extint, ekstent, extente
Memory tip: Picture a huge tent stretched over a field: the extent of the tent. Extent ends in tent.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The full extent of the storm damage was clear only the next morning.
Example 2: To some extent, Rahul is right about the noisy canteen.
Example 3: Maps show the extent of the Thar Desert across Rajasthan.
Fun Fact
At its greatest extent, under Emperor Ashoka in the third century BCE, the Mauryan Empire covered most of the Indian subcontinent.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word extent as used in the sentence:
Nobody knew the extent of the leak until the water reached the ground floor.
a) timing
b) cause
c) smell
d) scale
Show answer
d) scale. The extent of a leak is its scale, how big it is.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. hieght 2. extent 3. distanse 4. lenght
a) the amount of space between two points
b) how tall something is
c) the size, area or degree of something
d) how long something is from end to end
Show answer
c) the size, area or degree of something. Length puts ng before th, height has ei and distance ends ce. That leaves extent.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The engineers measured the nettex of the cracks in the old bridge.
a) extend
b) extent
c) extant
d) intent
Show answer
b) extent. Extend has a d, extant an a and intent an i, so two e's, two t's, n and x give extent.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone who says 'To some extent, you are right' thinks you are ____.
a) partly right
b) completely wrong
c) not listening
d) always right
Show answer
a) partly right
2. Which word means 'still in existence'?
a) extent
b) extinct
c) extant
d) extend
Show answer
c) extant
