gargantuan

[ gahr-gan-choo-uhn ]

/ gɑrˈgæn tʃu ən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gargantuan ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

gigantic; enormous; colossal: a gargantuan task.

Nearby words

garfish, garfunkel, garg., garganey, gargantua, gargantuan, garget, gargle, gargoyle, gargoylism, gari

Origin of gargantuan

First recorded in 1585–95; Gargantu(a) + -an

SYNONYMS FOR gargantuan

huge, mammoth, immense, vast, elephantine.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gargantuan ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Examples from the Web for gargantuan

Today, researchers are flummoxed as to the whereabouts of this gargantuan cultural artifact.
The Biggest Art Heist of WWII is Still Unsolved||October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are gargantuan histories of the birth of hip-hop, many of which Ed used for his research.
Bam! Pow! Bling! Hip-Hop's History Gets the Graphic Novel Treatment|Daniel Genis|August 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And as far as trolls go, ESPN is like Jotnar, the gargantuan mountain troll wreaking havoc in the Trollhunter films.
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Pricks|Marlow Stern|July 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In person, you can see why it proved such a gargantuan task.
Susan Sarandon on Her Love Affair With David Bowie, Woody Allen’s Creepiness, and Psychedelics|Marlow Stern|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The U.S. Embassy and its support staff grew to gargantuan proportions, only to be “right-sized” later on.
Hillary Clinton Pushed Obama to Keep Troops in Iraq|Josh Rogin|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Worse—it was as though the ground and its every surface object had been run through a gargantuan mill and spewed abroad.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith
Roars of Gargantuan laughter shook the skies as each new initiate unwittingly succumbed to the demoniac wiles of his tormentors.
Mark Twain|Archibald Henderson
It was a gargantuan thing which seemed to writhe in an agony which, somehow, was created by itself.
The Spell of the White Sturgeon|James Arthur Kjelgaard
Even as he lowered his head a gargantuan blast shook the world below him.
The Buttoned Sky|Geoff St. Reynard
I fear that even the capacity for that Gargantuan laughter which met them, in those days, exists no longer.
The Bell-Ringer of Angel's and Other Stories|Bret Harte

British Dictionary definitions for gargantuan

gargantuan

/ (ɡɑːˈɡæntjʊən) /

adjective

(sometimes capital) huge; enormous

usage

Some people think that gargantuan should only be used to describe things connected with food: a gargantuan meal; his gargantuan appetite

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 gargantuan

gargantuan

adj.

1590s, from Gargantua, large-mouthed giant in Rabelais' novels, supposedly from Spanish/Portuguese garganta "gullet, throat," which is from the same imitative root as gargle.

gargantuan

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of gargantuan

Examples from the Web for gargantuan

British Dictionary definitions for gargantuan

gargantuan

adjective

usage

Word Origin and History for gargantuan

gargantuan