enormous
Americanadjective
-
greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc.; huge; immense.
an enormous fortune.
- Synonyms:
- stupendous, prodigious, mammoth, gigantic, colossal, vast
-
outrageous or atrocious.
enormous wickedness; enormous crimes.
adjective
-
unusually large in size, extent, or degree; immense; vast
-
archaic extremely wicked; heinous
Related Words
See huge.
Other Word Forms
- enormously adverb
- enormousness noun
Etymology
Origin of enormous
Explanation
When something is very, very, VERY big, it can be called enormous. “Good heavens, that pimple on your cheek is absolutely enormous; it covers half your face!” The word enormous contains within it, if you look closely, the root norm, as in normal. So what you’re saying when you call something enormous is that it’s beyond what is normal; you’re trying to convey a sense of exaggerated difference. You may also have heard the word ginormous, which people try to use as enormous with a dramatic flair. But, trust us: ginormous is not a good word; it’s just a blend of two words — gigantic and enormous.
Vocabulary lists containing enormous
Chains
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Living Large: Synonyms for "Big"
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 8
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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.
You understand that you are a single cell in something enormous and moving.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
This holds enormous economic, as well as geopolitical, consequences.
From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026
Even at the lower end of that range, the animal would have been enormous by today's standards.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
The primary suite in the unit featured its own private sitting room, an enormous spa-like bathroom, and its own fireplace—as well as “multiple closets,” the listing noted.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
An enormous crowd, which included a beaming Cussler, cheered from the shore as, for the first time in more than 136 years, the Hunley broke the surface.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
