enormity

noun enor·mi·ty \ i-ˈnȯr-mə-tē \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Usage guide: enormity vs. enormousness

Examples: enormity in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of enormity

plural enormities

1 : an outrageous, improper, vicious, or immoral act

the enormities of state power
—Susan Sontag

other enormities too juvenile to mention
—Richard Freedman

2 : the quality or state of being immoderate, monstrous, or outrageous; especially : great wickedness

the enormity of the crimes committed during the Third Reich
—G. A. Craig

3 : the quality or state of being huge : immensity

the inconceivable enormity of the universe

4 : a quality of momentous importance or impact

the enormity of the decision

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enormity vs. enormousness

Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning "great wickedness." Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal.

- they awakened; they sat up; and then the enormity of their situation burst upon them. "How did the fire start?"
- —John Steinbeck

When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming

- no intermediate zone of study. Either the enormity of the desert or the sight of a tiny flower
- —Paul Theroux
- the enormity of the task of teachers in slum schools
- —J. B. Conant

and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality.

- the enormity of existing stockpiles of atomic weapons
- —New Republic

It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened

- the sombre enormity of the Russian Revolution
- —George Steiner

or of its consequences.

- perceived as no one in the family could the enormity of the misfortune
- —E. L. Doctorow

Examples of enormity in a Sentence

We were shocked at the enormity of the crime.
They didn't fully grasp the enormity of their decision.

Recent Examples of enormity from the Web

Trump, just back in Washington after his historic sitdown in Singapore with Kim Jong Un, blasted the press - and two TV news organizations in particular - for failing to grasp the enormity of the event.

— brooke singman, Fox News, "Trump calls 'fake news media' America's biggest enemy in wake of Singapore summit," 13 June 2018
In the years building up to the first-ever World Cup in Russia, organizers loved to remind people that this was a chance to showcase everything about this country: from its cuisine to its culture to its sheer enormity.

— joshua robinson, WSJ, "Russia Knocks Out Spain in Shootout," 1 July 2018
Rhodes’s optimism is clearly strained by the enormity of the challenge posed by climate change.

— New York Times, "A History of the Energy We Have Consumed," 18 June 2018
The absolute enormity of that number were seemingly enough to overshadow any network concerns about Barr’s online behavior, which, ABC seemed to reason, could be explained away by hinting vaguely at her eccentricity.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Why ABC Finally Had to Cancel Roseanne," 29 May 2018
Only Thompson seemed unphased by the enormity of the situation.

— al saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle, "Warriors roll in schizophrenic Game 6 performance," 26 May 2018
Nothing seems to fit the enormity of this moment for us.

— sarah klein, Health.com, "This Video of a 4-Year-Old With Cerebral Palsy Walking on Her Own for the First Time Will Make Your Day," 6 July 2018
Remove emotion and sentiment from the equation, remove the enormity of the occasion, and you're left with facts that tell an entirely different story about Loris Karius than the common perception.

— SI.com, "Bouncing Back: Making the Case for Loris Karius as Liverpool's Long-Term Number One," 7 June 2018
The loss of a big chunk of the neighborhood’s infrastructure is a vivid illustration of the enormity of the Tubbs Fire — and the profound challenge of recovering from it.

— lizzie johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, "Another gut punch for Santa Rosa: Fire destroys neighborhood water system," 15 Apr. 2018

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

Did You Know?

Although enormity has been used since the late 1700s to denote large size, this usage continues to be disparaged by various language commentators who argue that enormity should be reserved for senses related to "great wickedness." It is enormousness, they insist (a hefty and considerably less common word), that should be used in reference to great size, despite the fact that, like enormity, it too originally was used to denote wickedness or divergence from accepted moral standards. For better or worse, this proscription has been widely ignored by many English speakers, including professional writers. However one chooses to use them, enormity and enormous can both be traced back to the Latin enormis, from the prefix e- ("out of") and norma ("rule," "pattern," or "carpenter's square").