cyclopean

adjective

cy·​clo·​pe·​an ˌsī-klə-ˈpē-ən  sī-ˈklō-pē- 

1

often Cyclopean : of, relating to, or characteristic of a Cyclops

2

: huge, massive

3

: of or relating to a style of stone construction marked typically by the use of large irregular blocks without mortar

Did you know?

The Cyclopes of Greek mythology were huge, crude giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. Odysseus and his men had a terrible encounter with a Cyclops, and escaped utter disaster only by stabbing a burning stick into the monster's eye. The great stone walls at such ancient sites as Troy and Mycenae are called cyclopean because the stones are so massive and the construction (which uses no cement) is so expert that it was assumed that only a superhuman race such as the Cyclopes could have achieved such a feat.

Synonyms of cyclopean

• giant
• gigantic
• colossal
• vast
• enormous
• huge
• massive
• mammoth
• tremendous
• astronomical
• monster
• monumental
• titanic
• monstrous
• immense
• mountainous
• bumper

Examples of cyclopean in a Sentence

a cyclopean granite statue that the dictator himself had commissioned

Recent Examples on the Web

As a result, both cellular lineages were incorporated into a single, ancient, cyclopean eye, which later evolved into the vertebrate eyes. — Federica Sgorbissa, ArsTechnica, 6 Mar. 2026

The wall was built with a range of construction techniques, including cyclopean masonry. — Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Aug. 2021

Rachmaninoff’s humbling presence, re-encountered, is gigantic, cyclopean. — Joseph Horowitz, WSJ, 17 Sep. 2018

Iran, Syria, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea, Iraq—in a Cyclopean cellar wrapped in near-total darkness. — Ali Arkady, Smithsonian, 2 May 2017

Vividly monumental aggregates of cyclopean arches, inverted pyramids, louvered domes, layered patterns and saturated colors—this is not the rigidly principled modernism of Le Corbusier or the inviolate geometry of Louis Kahn. — Julie V. Iovine, WSJ, 22 Feb. 2017

If a mutation causes sonic hedgehog activity to become too muted, the result can be a birth defect called holoprosencephaly, marked in the most extreme cases by a head with a single, cyclopean eye. — George Johnson, Discover Magazine, 16 Sep. 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cyclopean

• aegean
• aptian
• boolean
• korean
• linnaean
• plebeian
• protean
• ruffian
• wolffian
• adlerian
• caesarian
• european