enormity
noun
Susan SontagRichard FreedmanG. A. Craig 
Enormity vs. Enormousness: Usage Guide
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.
John Steinbeck
When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming
Paul Theroux
J. B. Conant
and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality.
New Republic
It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened
George Steiner
or of its consequences.
E. L. Doctorow
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").
Examples of enormity in a Sentence
Bluesky Social, 21 May 2025
This is an opportunity for the legal profession to unify, marshal its considerable brain power and resources, and fearlessly respond to the enormity of the challenge and the stakes.
—Mark A. Cohen, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
Given the enormity of their task, Li and her collaborators ultimately crowdsourced the task of labeling images to gig workers, using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 Mar. 2025
Don’t Write It Alone Many thought leaders or entrepreneurs have an incredible story or framework to share, but they get stalled for years by the enormity of writing a full-length book.
—Adrian Gostick, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for enormity
Cite this Entry
“Enormity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enormity. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
enormity
noun
Share