cavernous

[kav-er-nuhs]

adjective

1. being, resembling, or suggestive of a cavern.

   a vast, cavernous room.

2. deep-set.

   cavernous eyes.

3. hollow and deep-sounding.

   a cavernous voice.

4. containing caverns.

5. full of small cavities; porous.

cavernous

/ ˈkævənəs /

adjective

1. suggestive of a cavern in vastness, darkness, etc

   cavernous hungry eyes

2. filled with small cavities; porous

3. (of rocks) containing caverns or cavities

Other Word Forms

• cavernously adverb
• intercavernous adjective
• uncavernous adjective
• uncavernously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cavernous¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word cavernōsus. See cavern, -ous

Example Sentences

But inside cavernous buildings that normally house NFL teams, empty seats were a recurring theme.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Cheng Cui built an artists’ live/work/exhibition space with cavernous public zones and a swirling ceramic skin that can be updated or expanded by the designers inside.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In a corner of a cavernous 1890s factory in southern Massachusetts, 15 people are bent over sewing machines, churning out specialty, hospital-grade neonatal gear.

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There are no clear-cut villains and heroes here; every character bears cavernous flaws, each playing a role in Ingelsby’s construction of the main trespass.

Read more on Salon

For her book launch earlier this week, hundreds packed into the cavernous women's college auditorium in Kochi - fittingly called the Mother Mary Hall - with an overflow crowd watching on a live stream outside.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• gaping 
• huge 
• roomy 
• spacious 
• vast 
• yawning