vast

[vast, vahst]

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adjective, vast·er, vast·est.

of very great area or extent; immense: the vast reaches of outer space.

of very great size or proportions; huge; enormous: vast piles of rubble left in the wake of the war.

very great in number, quantity, amount, etc.: vast sums of money.

very great in degree, intensity, etc.: an artisan of vast skill.

noun

Literary. an immense or boundless expanse or space.

Origin of vast

First recorded in 1565–75, vast is from the Latin word vastus empty, immense

Related formsvast·ly, adverbvast·ness, nounsu·per·vast, adjectivesu·per·vast·ly, adverbsu·per·vast·ness, noun

Synonyms for vast

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vast ON THESAURUS.COM

1. measureless, boundless, gigantic, colossal, stupendous.

Antonyms for vast

1. small.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for vaster

far-flung, colossal, far-reaching, huge, tremendous, broad, immense, boundless, spacious, extensive, ample, big, limitless, unlimited, great, infinite, endless, enormous, monumental, mammoth

Examples from the Web for vaster

Historical Examples of vaster

But only for a minute; other things of vaster importance held him.
The Free Range
Francis William Sullivan
The contribution on the whole is immense, vaster than we have yet any idea of.
Natural Law in the Spiritual World
Henry Drummond
Apparently it required a yet vaster effort to pronounce an explanation.
Evan Harrington, Complete
George Meredith
The universe is vaster than he or any of the Old Testament age could even imagine.
Expositor's Bible: The Book of Job
Robert Watson
Some time or other to every man must come the consciousness of this vaster life.
Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure
Edward Carpenter

British Dictionary definitions for vaster

vast

adjective

unusually large in size, extent, degree, or number; immense

(prenominal) (intensifier)in vast haste

noun

the vast mainly poetic immense or boundless space

British dialect a very great amount or number

Derived Formsvastity, nounvastly, adverbvastness, noun

Word Origin for vast

C16: from Latin vastus deserted

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 vaster

vast

adj.

1570s, from Middle French vaste, from Latin vastus "immense, extensive, huge," also "desolate, unoccupied, empty." The two meanings probably originally attached to two separate words, one with a long -a- one with a short -a-, that merged in early Latin (see waste). Very popular early 18c. as an intensifier. Related: Vastly; vastness.