towering

[tou-er-ing]

adjective

1. very high or tall; lofty.

   a towering oak.

   Synonyms: elevated
   Antonyms: short

2. surpassing others; very great.

   a towering figure in American poetry.

3. rising to an extreme degree of violence or intensity.

   a towering rage.

4. beyond the proper or usual limits; inordinate; excessive.

   towering pride; towering ambitions.

towering

/ ˈtaʊərɪŋ /

adjective

1. very tall; lofty

2. outstanding, as in importance or stature

3. (prenominal) very intense

   a towering rage

Other Word Forms

• toweringly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of towering¹

From a late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; tower ¹, -ing ²

Synonym Study

See high.

Example Sentences

These players do not all start for Newcastle at any one given time, but this towering side still have all the ingredients to carry a threat at set-plays.

From BBC

Work soon began on erecting the towering armature, which is made of 1,800 linear feet of steel tubing and 500 planter boxes.

From Los Angeles Times

I met my hosts at the restaurant’s entrance, made to look like a pueblo plaza complete with a huge water fountain, towering church steeple and a pink exterior better suited for a spoonful of Pepto-Bismol.

From Los Angeles Times

Maybe it was the sight of Jack’s towering truck, maybe the certainty in his voice, but my mind spiraled: Am I making the most of the days I have left?

From Salon

That itself is a towering achievement, but Roy's grassroots origins in a nondescript tribal village in West Bengal state's Purulia district - thousands of miles from Venice's glamorous palazzos - makes her triumph even more meaningful.

From BBC

Related Words

• colossal 
• gigantic 
• imposing 
• lofty 
• magnificent 
• massive 
• mighty 
• monumental 
• prodigious 
• soaring 
• stately 
• tall