adjective
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unusually large; huge; vast
-
without limits; immeasurable
-
informal very good; excellent
Related Words
See huge.
Other Word Forms
- immensely adverb
- immenseness noun
Etymology
Origin of immense
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin immēnsus “huge, boundless, immeasurable,” equivalent to im- “un-” + mēnsus, past participle of mētīrī “to measure”; see im- 2
Explanation
Immense means very large in size, amount, or degree. You might describe the ocean as immense, or your homework load, or the slice of cake your brother took, leaving you a tiny sliver. This word has an immense number of near synonyms: huge, great, enormous, vast, gigantic, colossal, mammoth, copious, tremendous are a few of the more common ones. If you're having immense difficulty deciding which word to use, just plain "very big" might do.
Vocabulary lists containing immense
List 4
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"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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myPerspectives 8.1
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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.
Other immense sculptures of pages show redacted sections of the document in massive black bars, magnifying the hostility of government censorship as massive obstacles constructed by many small players and devices.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026
Even so, these changes unfold over immense timescales.
From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026
“The downsides for speaking up are so immense, I almost can’t imagine why anyone chooses to do it.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
Fusion is the process of fusing hydrogen nuclei together, which releases immense amounts of energy.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Having been given full instructions by Matthias, Jess stood at the base of the immense Abbey building.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
