enormous
[ih-nawr-muh s]
- greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc.; huge; immense: an enormous fortune.
- outrageous or atrocious: enormous wickedness; enormous crimes.
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Origin of enormous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for enormous on Thesaurus.com1. vast, colossal, gigantic, mammoth, prodigious, stupendous. See huge.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for enormous
Contemporary Examples
After all, we have constructed Fortress America at enormous cost.
"We live on enormous territory, our eyes have different shapes, we believe in different religions," she said.
He has not changed his view in prison despite the enormous pressure exerted on him by the regime.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015Movements.Org
December 25, 2014
That had to give them an enormous reservoir of moral strength and solace.
A smirking Ramone is shown wearing both a CBGB shirt and heavy gold chains, posing next to an enormous boombox.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk PaintingsMelissa Leon
December 15, 2014
Historical Examples
All sorts of labor is got at enormous rates of compensation.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and CaliforniaBrevet Col. J.C. Fremont
The enormous importance of this work will be at once perceived.
There was an enormous complacency in his air over the event.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
I absolutely declined to accept or admit the enormous truth hidden in them.
De ProfundisOscar Wilde
The profits of these were enormous, and when he died in 1759 he left investments to the extent of 20,000.
HandelEdward J. Dent
enormous
- unusually large in size, extent, or degree; immense; vast
- archaic extremely wicked; heinous
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for 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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper