immense

[ih-mens]

adjective

1. vast; huge; very great.

   an immense territory.

   Synonyms: extensive

2. immeasurable; boundless.

3. Informal.,  splendid.

   You did an immense job getting the project started.

immense

/ ɪˈmɛns /

adjective

1. unusually large; huge; vast

2. without limits; immeasurable

3. informal,  very good; excellent

Other Word Forms

• immensely adverb
• immenseness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of immense¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin immēnsus “huge, boundless, immeasurable,” equivalent to im- “un-” + mēnsus, past participle of mētīrī “to measure”; im- ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of immense¹

C15: from Latin immensus, literally: unmeasured, from _im- (not) + mensus measured, from mētīrī to measure

Synonym Study

See huge.

Example Sentences

However for the accused, the effect of the accusations - even if later cleared - were immense.

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This immense carbon sink functions through a complex circulation system: deep water rises to the surface, exchanges gases with the atmosphere, and then sinks again, carrying absorbed CO2 back into the depths.

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In many Southern states, the workforce was principally composed of enslaved people, whose forced labor drove its immense agricultural output.

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It points to the potential need for new physical laws or mechanisms that could help overcome the immense informational and organizational barriers to life.

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Some, such as the immense Himalayan glaciers, even send cold air streaming down their slopes, cooling the valleys below.

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Related Words

• boundless 
• colossal 
• endless 
• enormous 
• extensive 
• gigantic 
• great 
• huge 
• immeasurable 
• infinite 
• limitless 
• mammoth 
• massive 
• monstrous 
• monumental 
• prodigious 
• tremendous 
• vast