enormous

[ ih-nawr-muhs ]

/ ɪˈnɔr məs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enormous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc.; huge; immense: an enormous fortune.

outrageous or atrocious: enormous wickedness; enormous crimes.

Nearby words

Origin of enormous

First recorded in 1525–35; enorm + -ous

SYNONYMS FOR enormous

1 vast, colossal, gigantic, mammoth, prodigious, stupendous. See huge.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR enormous ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formse·nor·mous·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for enormous

After all, we have constructed Fortress America at enormous cost.
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"We live on enormous territory, our eyes have different shapes, we believe in different religions," she said.
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He has not changed his view in prison despite the enormous pressure exerted on him by the regime.
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That had to give them an enormous reservoir of moral strength and solace.
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A smirking Ramone is shown wearing both a CBGB shirt and heavy gold chains, posing next to an enormous boombox.
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They live only in the library, as the rest is so enormous to light and heat.
Letters of a Diplomat's Wife|Mary King Waddington
The volume of the Rjukan fall is enormous, its height very considerable, and its roar deafening.
Ticket No. "9672"|Jules Verne
He wore an enormous broad-brimmed hat and emerald-green earrings, and looked considerably younger than his eldest son, Francesco.
New Italian sketches|John Addington Symonds
The enormous grant which had been made at the outset for three years was already spent and a fresh supply had to be granted.
History of the English People, Volume VI (of 8)|John Richard Green
A quarter of an hour after that, Blangin reappeared, holding a lantern and an enormous bunch of keys in his hands.
Within an Inch of His Life|Emile Gaboriau

British Dictionary definitions for enormous

enormous

/ (ɪˈnɔːməs) /

adjective

unusually large in size, extent, or degree; immense; vast

archaic extremely wicked; heinous

Derived Formsenormously, adverbenormousness, noun

Word Origin for enormous

C16: from Latin ēnormis, from ē- out of, away from + norma rule, pattern

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for enormous

enormous

adj.

1530s, from Latin enormis "out of rule, irregular, shapeless, extraordinary, very large," from ex- "out of" (see ex-) + norma "rule, norm" (see norm), with English -ous substituted for Latin -is.

Meaning "extraordinary in size" is attested from 1540s; original sense of "outrageous" is more clearly preserved in enormity. Earlier in same sense was enormyous (mid-15c.). Related: Enormously.

enormous

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of enormous

Examples from the Web for enormous

British Dictionary definitions for enormous

enormous

adjective

Word Origin for enormous

Word Origin and History for enormous

enormous