1
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
the enormity of the crimes committed by the Nazis
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in magnitude
the quality or state of being very large
the enormity of the canyon can only be grasped by taking a trip through its entire length
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 enormity
As a game, the father sometimes practices this grip on his boys, bragging about the enormity of his fists.
—
Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025
The region is used to monsoon rains and frequent flooding, but the enormity of the human toll and level of destruction have shocked many, with scientists warning that, as the climate crisis intensifies, more intense extreme weather events will become the new normal.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 6 Dec. 2025
Despite the enormity of these crimes, many United Nations member states continue to recognize and engage with this illegitimate regime, thereby perpetuating its impunity.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 12 Nov. 2025
For many Americans, there might be a temptation to disbelieve the enormity of what has happened in the Gaza Strip.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enormity
Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025
The region is used to monsoon rains and frequent flooding, but the enormity of the human toll and level of destruction have shocked many, with scientists warning that, as the climate crisis intensifies, more intense extreme weather events will become the new normal.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 6 Dec. 2025
Despite the enormity of these crimes, many United Nations member states continue to recognize and engage with this illegitimate regime, thereby perpetuating its impunity.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 12 Nov. 2025
For many Americans, there might be a temptation to disbelieve the enormity of what has happened in the Gaza Strip.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enormity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enormity
Noun
-
On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In fact, the report says that since 1950, the cumulative impact − which considers increase in numbers, spread and magnitude of impacts − has more than doubled.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Neither, however, faced competition from nomination juggernauts of this magnitude.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This lawless crew shares dramaturgical DNA with the vice figures from medieval morality plays, personifications of sinfulness who would confide their schemes to the audience and make theatergoers their co-conspirators in a riveting game that obviously left its mark on a young Shakespeare.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There was hugely more of it and less of me, rendered infinitesimal in the presence of this immensity.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Stevens chose to enact the story on a scale of mythic grandeur and timeless immensity.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
All three play key roles in the library scene—in which Walker’s revolutionaries, seeking justice for a racial atrocity, hold Morgan’s collection hostage—but none had visited the real thing, on Thirty-sixth Street.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The city saw some of the terror group’s worst atrocities.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
18 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But the vastness was really about fostering conditions in which his spectral harmonies could thrive.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Part of Greenland’s appeal, indeed, comes from both the vastness of the territory and the variety of its geological features.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.—
William Earl,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Like Phish or Taylor Swift or The Dead, 21P have created a universe for their fans that is a self-sustaining mechanism, even if the hugeness of it doesn’t always translate into huge chart success.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Hawley, who directed the premiere, brings an impressive sense of scale to the action, conveying the hugeness of the spaceship and its urban crash zone, contrasted with the smallness of the figures trying to make their way through the mayhem.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enormity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enormity. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
