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Gargantua is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua, the second part of a five-volume series about the giant and his son Pantagruel. All of the details of Gargantua's life befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose tail switches so violently that it fells the entire forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite, such that in one incident he inadvertently swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The scale of everything connected with Gargantua led to the adjective gargantuan, which since William Shakespeare's time has been used for anything of tremendous size or volume.
Synonyms of gargantuan
Examples of gargantuan in a Sentence
Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 4 June 2026
Breakfast here is a spectacular sight, with gargantuan pastries and other treats lining the central dining counter, dividing the two restaurant spaces.
—Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026
The Spurs getting to the finals with Victor Wembanyama is gargantuan.
—Zach Harper, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Instead, gum arabic, like so much of the country’s gargantuan wealth, now provides both the reason and resources for its staggeringly ruinous civil war.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Gargantuan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gargantuan. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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gargantuan
adjective
from Gargantua, a giant with an enormous appetite in books by the French author François Rabelais
