Synonym Chooser

How is the word colossal distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of colossal are enormous, gigantic, huge, immense, mammoth, and vast. While all these words mean "exceedingly large," colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

How are the words enormous and immense related as synonyms of colossal?

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

When could gigantic be used to replace colossal?

In some situations, the words gigantic and colossal are roughly equivalent. However, gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

When can huge be used instead of colossal?

Although the words huge and colossal have much in common, huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

When would mammoth be a good substitute for colossal?

While in some cases nearly identical to colossal, mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

When is vast a more appropriate choice than colossal?

The words vast and colossal can be used in similar contexts, but vast usually suggests immensity of extent.

the vast Russian steppes

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of colossal Baby colossal squid seen in its natural habitat for the first time. Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025 The clip shows the colossal squid gliding across a backdrop of deep dark waters. Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025 And yet, this colossal level of easement doesn’t have to equate to being underdressed. Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 29 Apr. 2025 The 62-page review has been in the works for months and engaged with a colossal 2,500 BBC employees and freelancers across the UK including 20 production companies that make shows for the BBC. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for colossal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for colossal
Adjective
  • In the spring of 2022, Russian forces trapped a large group of Ukrainians inside a gigantic steel factory called Azovstal, in southern Ukraine.
    Simon Shuster, Time, 16 May 2025
  • What all of these cases have in common is a truly gigantic deer, and then, sadly, lots of discord within the hunting community.
    Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 15 May 2025
Adjective
  • Tesla sales have experienced a huge international decline, leaving room for competitors to gain momentum.
    Charles Singh, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • So, that was a huge surprise, but brilliant storytelling, as far as I’m concerned.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 15 May 2025
Adjective
  • From the rooftop balcony, views over dune to the sea, of the enormous windmills, and across to the port reveal its unimaginable scale.
    Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
  • Heisman winner Ingram led a ground-and-pound offense, while McClain and enormous defensive tackle Cody — who blocked a last-second field goal to survive Lane Kiffin-led Tennessee — became the faces of a defense that allowed just 11.7 points per game.
    Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Trying to wrestle the gun away from one another, the boys take shelter behind what appears to be a giant outdoor fan.
    Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 13 May 2025
  • The film is a giant step for a picture coming out of Nigeria and landing at the world’s most important film festival.
    Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • The High Plains also get plenty of love from Hill Country wineries—the Panhandle does, after all, produce the vast majority of the grapes grown in the state.
    Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 18 May 2025
  • There are the vast arcs of the avenues, the great green slashes of parks and cemeteries, the jagged field of skyscrapers, steepled and spiked like iron filings pulled up toward the great magnet of the sky.
    Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 18 May 2025
Adjective
  • The massive undersea volcano reaches more than 3,600 feet above the seabed is located 300 miles offshore.
    Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 17 May 2025
  • Boston has constructed massive leads in each game, often to begin them.
    Fred Katz, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • At the time Venice had a tremendous amount of creative freedom because no one really cared much about what went on there.
    Courtney Wittich, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2025
  • There is a tremendous difference between getting the two countries to step back from the brink of war and facilitating a permanent solution to an 80-year dispute.
    Lisa Curtis, Foreign Affairs, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • His goal has not been met of finding $1 trillion in federal savings from waste, fraud and abuse. Veterans Affairs Department: A new internal task force at the mammoth department wants employees to report anti-Christian bias among coworkers going back to the Biden administration.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Over the span of a mammoth, 52-song setlist, the musicians and TDE labelmates traded the stage back and forth and debuted tracks from their newest releases—2024’s GNX and SOS Deluxe: Lana.
    Walden Green, Pitchfork, 20 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Colossal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/colossal. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on colossal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!