colossal

adjective

co·los·sal | \kə-ˈlä-səl

Definition of colossal

1 : of, relating to, or resembling a colossus colossal statues

2 : of a bulk, extent, power, or effect approaching or suggesting the stupendous or incredible colossal rock formations colossal stellar explosions

3 : of an exceptional or astonishing degree a colossal failure a colossal bore colossal ambition

Other Words from colossal Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about colossal

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Choose the Right Synonym for colossal

enormous, immense, huge, vast, gigantic, colossal, mammoth mean exceedingly large. enormous and immense both suggest an exceeding of all ordinary bounds in size or amount or degree, but enormous often adds an implication of abnormality or monstrousness. an enormous expense an immense shopping mall huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount. incurred a huge debt vast usually suggests immensity of extent. the vast Russian steppes gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind. a gigantic sports stadium colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions. a colossal statue of Lincoln mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk. a mammoth boulder

Examples of colossal in a Sentence

a colossal statue of the town's founder

Recent Examples on the Web

Tap or click here to avoid making one colossal privacy mistake when renting a car. — Kim Komando, Fox News, "5 essential tech options for your new car," 6 July 2018 With its colossal amount of content, YouTube is one place to browse. — New York Times, "Find Free (Old) Feature Films Online," 26 June 2018 The Cincinnati Bengals kicked off the 1995 draft by taking Ki-Jana Carter, and that turned out to be a colossal mistake. — Sam Farmer, latimes.com, "Could the Cleveland Browns break tradition and select a running back No. 1?," 4 Mar. 2018 Our new Troll Hunt exhibition features six colossal wooden creatures and a top-secret hideout set among our 1,700-acre grounds. — Jen Banowetz, Naperville Sun, "Bikes are welcome at Morton Arboretum event," 27 June 2018 As John Podhoretz rightly noted in Commentary magazine, movie studios used to spend colossal amounts of money on stopping celebrities from revealing their uglier sides and torpedoing their own careers. — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "For Roseanne Barr and Bill Cosby, their names, unfortunately, were their shows," 1 June 2018 Her elder son, taking after his father, is also a colossal creep. — Laura Collins-hughes, BostonGlobe.com, "Waking up is hard to do," 13 July 2018 Jack Stack's best-selling appetizer, the colossal onion rings, are served in towers. — Sarah Gish, kansascity, "Batter up: Here are 18 KC-area places to get perfect, golden-fried onion rings," 21 June 2018 But the outcome of the May 1 ballot stunned the city: a landslide victory for the anti-transit camp, which attacked the plan as a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money. — Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, "How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country," 19 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'colossal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.