adjective
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unusually large; huge; vast
-
without limits; immeasurable
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informal very good; excellent
Synonym Usage
See huge.
Other Word Forms
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.
"The implications for people are immense because El Nino is a major source of climate extremes and hazards."
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
There’s also an immense amount of drama to the sport; leaning into that truly transports the student away from a club experience and into a kind of delicious, LARP-y fugue state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
In his decade at Manchester City, Guardiola not only parlayed the club’s immense, Abu Dhabi-based wealth into six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a Champions League.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula also paid tribute to Tete, lamenting the loss of a "a great South African who has made an immense contribution in the sport of boxing".
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Yet when it succeeds, it gives Sapiens immense power, because it enables millions of strangers to cooperate and work towards common goals.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
