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massive

[mas-iv]
See more synonyms for massive on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. consisting of or forming a large mass; bulky and heavy: massive columns.
  2. large and heavy-looking: a massive forehead.
  3. large in scale, amount, or degree: a massive breakdown in communications; massive reductions in spending.
  4. solid or substantial; great or imposing: massive erudition.
  5. Mineralogy. having no outward crystal form, although sometimes crystalline in internal structure.
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Origin of massive

1375–1425; late Middle English (see mass, -ive); replacing Middle English massif < Middle French
Related formsmas·sive·ly, adverbmas·sive·ness, mas·siv·i·ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for massively

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "Come as you are," said the Tamburini, who massively stood up.

    The Paliser case

    Edgar Saltus

  • He could see her cheek, the cheek that ran too massively into her neck.

  • Stress and thrust answer each other directly, simply, massively.

    Parallel Paths

    Thomas William Rolleston

  • The city is massively built, but it has a battered look, and no wonder.

    Heroic Spain

    Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

  • To her eyes the tree stood as massively firm as she had ever seen it.

    The Brimming Cup

    Dorothy Canfield Fisher

British Dictionary definitions for massively

massive

adjective
  1. (of objects) large in mass; bulky, heavy, and usually solid
  2. impressive or imposing in quality, degree, or scopemassive grief
  3. relatively intensive or large; considerablea massive dose
  4. pathol affecting a large area of the bodya massive cancer
  5. geology
    1. (of igneous rocks) having no stratification, cleavage, etc; homogeneous
    2. (of sedimentary rocks) arranged in thick poorly defined strata
  6. mineralogy without obvious crystalline structure
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noun
  1. slang a group of friends or associates; gangthe Staines massive
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Derived Formsmassively, adverbmassiveness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from French massif, from masse mass
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 massively

massive

adj.

c.1400, from Middle French massif "bulky, solid," from Old French masse "lump" (see mass (n.1)). Related: Massively; massiveness. U.S. Cold War strategy of massive retaliation was introduced by J.F. Dulles in early 1954.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
massively in Medicine

massive

(măs′ĭv)
adj.
  1. Large in comparison with the usual amount.
  2. Affecting a large area of bodily tissue; widespread and severe.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.