Definition of IMMENSE

Choose the Right Synonym for immense

enormous, immense, huge, vast, gigantic, colossal, mammoth mean exceedingly large. enormous and immense both suggest an exceeding of all ordinary bounds in size or amount or degree, but enormous often adds an implication of abnormality or monstrousness. an enormous expense an immense shopping mall huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount. incurred a huge debt vast usually suggests immensity of extent. the vast Russian steppes gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind. a gigantic sports stadium colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions. a colossal statue of Lincoln mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk. a mammoth boulder

Did You Know?

Just how big is something if it is immense? Huge? Colossal? Humongous? Ginormous? Or merely enormous? "Immense" is often used as a synonym of all of the above and, as such, can simply function as yet another way for English speakers to say "really, really, really big." "Immense" is also used, however, in a sense which goes beyond merely really, really, really big to describe something that is so great in size or degree that it transcends ordinary means of measurement. This sense harks back to the original sense of "immense" as something which is so tremendously big that it has not or cannot be measured. This sense reflects the word's roots in the Latin immensus, from "in-" ("un-") and "mensus," the past participle of "metiri" ("to measure").

Examples of immense in a Sentence

He inherited an immense fortune. She is an artist of immense talent.

Recent Examples on the Web

A bird's eye view in the video, shared on Instagram and embedded from People below, gives an idea of the immense scale. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas Are Married—Here's Everything We Know About the Wedding," 4 Dec. 2018 And Odyssey’s narrative issues seem to stem from the game’s immense scale as much as anything else. — Daniel Starkey, Ars Technica, "Assassin’s Creed Odyssey," 4 Oct. 2018 Yet in spite of the immense scale of the disaster, official government estimates placed Maria’s mortality figure at just 64 individuals as of late 2017. — Daniel Cusick, Scientific American, "Hurricane Maria Contributed to Nearly 5,000 Deaths, Researchers Say," 30 May 2018 Of course, a project of such immense scale proved inherently dangerous and cost the lives of 112 men. — Roger Naylor, azcentral, "Hoover Dam: Tours, sightseeing and how to get there from Las Vegas and Phoenix," 23 May 2018 He's joined by the remarkable Helen McCrory, showcasing heartbreaking emotional tenderness and immense power. — Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, "Richard Gere Confirmed for First Major TV Role in 'MotherFatherSon'," 22 May 2018 However, even if AI was 99 percent effective at removing controversial content like hate speech, there would still be real consequences, made worse by the immense scale and reach of online platforms. — Brittan Heller, WIRED, "What Mark Zuckerberg Gets Wrong—and Right—About Hate Speech," 2 May 2018 Federal laws hand immense power over the immigration court system to the attorney general—in this case Jeff Sessions, an avowed foe of undocumented immigrants and an opponent of legal immigration. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "The Migrant Caravan Enters Trump’s Hostile Immigration Maze," 1 May 2018 Today, however, a mounting groundswell of support for renewable energy and a global boom in solar technology is beginning to erode their immense power. — Alex Dziadosz, Bloomberg.com, "Can Green Energy Beat Lebanon’s ‘Generator Mafias?’," 26 Feb. 2018

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