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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
Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 14 Jan. 2026
That prediction would be more believable if oil companies could expect a lucrative return on these gargantuan investments.
—Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
Second-year guard Ajay Mitchell added nine of his 23 points, including a pair of gargantuan 3s in the final frame.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2026
Walt thanked Fowler for taking on the gargantuan assignment of making Disneyland a reality during a 10th anniversary event in 1965.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 9 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Gargantuan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gargantuan. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gargantuan
adjective
from Gargantua, a giant with an enormous appetite in books by the French author François Rabelais
