colossal

adjective

co·​los·​sal kə-ˈlä-səl 

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

colossally

kə-ˈlä-sə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of colossal

• gigantic
• huge
• enormous
• giant
• vast
• massive
• tremendous
• mammoth
• monumental
• immense
• astronomical
• titanic
• monstrous

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

Her book objects might also take colossal form, as in 1967’s The Big Book, featuring eight-foot-by-four-foot pages secured to a central spine and moveable via casters. —News Desk, Artforum, 3 Nov. 2025

Visitors entering the museum are greeted by the colossal 3,200-year-old, 11-meter-tall statue of King Ramses II, which stood for decades in central Cairo's Ramses Square before being relocated to its new home near the museum in 2006. —Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025

That might seem like a colossal success to you or me, except the budget was somehow $55 million, for a movie about an album made on a $400 tape deck. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 2 Nov. 2025

Our brain's natural propensity for creating order out of chaos causes some to interpret the scene as a colossal bat hunting the scrap of shining nebula visible at the top of the image. —Anthony Wood, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see colossus

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for colossal

• apostle
• hydrocele
• nitrosyl
• subbasal
• docile
• fossil
• jostle
• hypoglossal
• nannofossil

Kids Definition

colossal

adjective

co·​los·​sal kə-ˈläs-əl 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a colossus

especially : of very great size

a colossal office building

2

: extraordinary, exceptional

colossal growth

a colossal failure

colossally

-ə-lē 

adverb