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

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.

From BBC

In fact, you can feel the tension as video crews and production personnel dart anxiously through the cavernous studio.

From Los Angeles Times

On a recent tour, he showed off a garden used by a new class in green technology, and a cavernous room that included 12 mini-kitchens and was stocked with gleaming stainless steel appliances.

From Los Angeles Times

In the centre of a sweltering, cavernous hall, rows of men sit in silence with nothing to occupy them but the wait.

From BBC

By the early 1990s, when metal excess was at its peak, he emerged with the spiritual power ballad “Mama, I’m Coming Home” and the slick “No More Tears,” the latter kicking off with cavernous synthesizers.

From Salon

Related Words

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