adjective
-
suggestive of a cavern in vastness, darkness, etc
cavernous hungry eyes
-
filled with small cavities; porous
-
(of rocks) containing caverns or cavities
Other Word Forms
- cavernously adverb
- intercavernous adjective
- uncavernous adjective
- uncavernously adverb
Etymology
Origin of cavernous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word cavernōsus. See cavern, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A cavernous main auditorium offered days full of panels and speakers.
From BBC
Snow drifted down from a shattered skylight as I wandered, confused and frightened, through the cavernous station.
From Literature
She’s running late, so Rivera and I settle into his cavernous Victorian home to speak about how he combed through decades of his archive to create the book.
From Los Angeles Times
The room had a cavernous feeling despite the windows behind the desk—which was well-ordered with a blotter, a lamp, a telephone, and a wire basket of papers weighed down by a pair of scissors.
From Literature
Inside the cavernous marble hall, neatly pressed clerks stand behind waist-high display cases.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
