Definition of leviathan
1a often capitalized : a sea monster defeated by Yahweh in various scriptural accountsb : a large sea animal this leviathan of animals is the great Blue Whale — Weston LaBarre
2 capitalized : the political state; especially : a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy
3 : something large or formidable that leviathan of international corporations
leviathan
adjectiveFrom the M-W Editors
leviathan was our Word of the Day on 12/04/2009. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Examples of leviathan in a Sentence
The factory is a towering leviathan in the middle of the town.
a leviathan of the seas, that cruise ship is said to be the largest passenger vessel afloat
Recent Examples of leviathan from the Web
-
Then again, this Chevy is more of a leviathan than most pickups.
-
In a review requested by Rep. David McSweeney, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said if Illinois goes a third full year without a budget agreement, the state’s leviathan of past-due bills will hit $22.7 billion.
-
In a study published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a team of researchers investigated gigantism in baleen whales, the filter-feeding leviathans that include blue whales, bowhead whales and fin whales.
-
Thirty-eight years later, ESPN has evolved into an news-gathering leviathan of such consequence that last week's announcement of 100 or so layoffs made national headlines.
-
These prehistoric lizard-like leviathans march calmly through golf course fairways, across college campuses and end up in urban drainage systems and even neighborhood swimming pools.
-
The federal governmental leviathan is the faceless vanguard of the status quo.
-
And once again, Diamond was front-row center for the fireworks blasting from the collapse of yet another resort leviathan.
-
Marine biologists say crowds of the leviathans may be visible along the Southern California coast in coming months after a record number of sightings last season.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leviathan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Old Testament references to a huge sea monster, Leviathan (in Hebrew, Liwyāthān), are thought to spring from an ancient myth in which the god Baal slays a multiheaded sea monster. Leviathan appears in the book of Psalms, as a sea serpent that is killed by God and then given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness, and it is referred to in the book of Job as well. We began equating Leviathan with the political state after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes used the word in (and as the title of) his 1651 political treatise on government. Today, Leviathan often suggests a crushing political bureaucracy. Leviathan can also be immensely useful as a general term meaning "something monstrous or of enormous size."
Origin and Etymology of leviathan
Middle English, from Late Latin, from Hebrew liwyāthān
LEVIATHAN Defined for English Language Learners
leviathan
playDefinition of leviathan for English Language Learners
-
: something that is very large and powerful
Learn More about leviathan
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for leviathan Spanish Central: Translation of leviathan Nglish: Translation of leviathan for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about leviathan
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up leviathan? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!