voluminous
Americanadjective
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forming, filling, or writing a large volume or many volumes.
a voluminous edition.
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sufficient to fill a volume or volumes.
a voluminous correspondence.
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of great volume, size, or extent.
voluminous flow of lava.
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of ample size, extent, or fullness.
voluminous petticoats.
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having many coils, convolutions, or windings.
adjective
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of great size, quantity, volume, or extent
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(of writing) consisting of or sufficient to fill volumes
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prolific in writing or speech
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obsolete winding
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of voluminous
1605–15; < Late Latin volūminōsus full of folds, equivalent to Latin volūmin- (stem of volūmen ) volume + -ōsus -ous
Explanation
Consider that volume is a measure of size. That will help you understand that voluminous refers to something very large in size or extent. Suppose instead of calling a book a book, you called it a volume. Suddenly, it seems to be part of a much bigger thing. And what if it were only Volume I, with 23 more volumes to go? Even bigger, right? In fact, it's more than big; it’s voluminous. Voluminous describes very large things. The flouncy skirt of a wedding dress? Voluminous. Media coverage of some movie star's divorce? Also voluminous. The word voluminous describes something ample, extensive, and just plain huge.
Vocabulary lists containing voluminous
"The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
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The House of the Scorpion
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Plaintiff lawyer Ashley Keller said, “The Court of Appeals agreed that our experts’ analyses of the voluminous research linking prenatal acetaminophen exposure to neurodevelopmental disorders is reliable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Ed and my husband have voluminous conversations about obscure historical figures and the state of humanity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Men in the 17th century wore the "periwig" - long, voluminous artificial curls - to denote wealth and high social status.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
The trial produced voluminous documents and evidence about OpenAI’s founding, business and an episode in 2023 when Altman was briefly fired by the company’s board before being reinstated, an event insiders call “the blip.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Had Darwin looked carefully through the books in his voluminous library, he might have found a reference to an obscure paper by a little-known botanist from Brno.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
