vast
[vast, vahst]
- 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.
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- Literary. an immense or boundless expanse or space.
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Origin of vast
First recorded in 1565–75, vast is from the Latin word vastus empty, immense
Synonyms
See more synonyms for vast on Thesaurus.com1. measureless, boundless, gigantic, colossal, stupendous.
Antonyms
1. small.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for vastly
Contemporary Examples
The two carriers are headquartered in Kuala Lumpur but have vastly different profiles and operating philosophies.
Our time is so vastly different in its particulars that the parallels work only in broad strokes.
To prevent further attacks we have vastly improved our defenses at home.
In terms of options, the cultural world of 1974 was vastly better than that of 1954.
This One Picture of Telly Savalas Refutes All Fears That Progress Has EndedNick Gillespie
October 30, 2014
These numbers, although startling, are thought to “vastly underestimate” the reality.
Historical Examples
If I am capable of judging, our tempers and inclinations are vastly different.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
He was vastly astonished at the outset and not quite pleased.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
"I would'nt have believed it possible," she declared, vastly impressed.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
With all her sophistication, Tillie was vastly ignorant of life.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
"You are vastly mistaken, my good friend," said the observer.
Earth's Holocaust (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
vast
- unusually large in size, extent, degree, or number; immense
- (prenominal) (intensifier)in vast haste
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- the vast mainly poetic immense or boundless space
- British dialect a very great amount or number
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Word Origin
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 vastly
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper