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

"You look great," he told her, taking hold of her hand and towering over her.

Read more on Barron's

He was a towering figure in Kenyan politics and for many years was the country's main opposition leader, losing five presidential campaigns, most recently three years ago.

Read more on BBC

Beneath the towering, neon-lit billboards of Times Square, six of the world's top long jumpers are soaring through the air, turning one of New York's most iconic streets into an unlikely athletics stage.

Read more on Barron's

But the charm is that they are surrounded by towering, elevator-less 1980s apartment buildings, where people hang clothes to dry in metal window cages.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And towering plumes of smoke and acrid odors drifted eastward with the onshore winds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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