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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
Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 31 Mar. 2026
The gargantuan orange vehicle has had numerous issues with hydrogen, the fuel used to power it.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 31 Mar. 2026
Now, as March brightens into April, the half-dozen lawmakers charged with crafting that gargantuan document are nearly finished.
—Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
Dallas officials have begun taking apart the gargantuan Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
—Devyani Chhetri, Dallas Morning News, 30 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Gargantuan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gargantuan. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gargantuan
adjective
from Gargantua, a giant with an enormous appetite in books by the French author François Rabelais
