Synonym Chooser

How is the word enormous distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of enormous are colossal, gigantic, huge, immense, mammoth, and vast. While all these words 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

When would colossal be a good substitute for enormous?

While in some cases nearly identical to enormous, colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

Where would gigantic be a reasonable alternative to enormous?

The synonyms gigantic and enormous are sometimes interchangeable, but gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

When could huge be used to replace enormous?

While the synonyms huge and enormous are close in meaning, huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

When might mammoth be a better fit than enormous?

Although the words mammoth and enormous have much in common, mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

When can vast be used instead of enormous?

In some situations, the words vast and enormous are roughly equivalent. However, 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 enormous The platform has amassed an enormous social media following, sharing market insights and trading strategies. William Jones, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025 There are things upsetting Hollywood, but the brand side has gone all in in an enormous way. Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2025 Implementing the administration's complex partial funding formula presents enormous procedural challenges for states, which administer the program that serves 42 million Americans. Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 6 Nov. 2025 Mining missions must extract, process, and transport enough material to offset their enormous costs. Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for enormous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enormous
Adjective
  • At the center of all the glitzy havoc—her face often looming on a huge flat screen that rolls around the stage, following actors like a hulking LED stalker—is of course Chenoweth.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Todd also had a huge sack in the fourth quarter.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • In 2017, Nepal joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s vast infrastructure investment program.
    MUHIB RAHMAN, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2025
  • Robotic systems like Sentante could let experts treat patients remotely instead of transporting them across vast regions.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • As the anti-India movement in the Maldives gained momentum, China exploited the United States’ absence, rapidly expanding its regional footprint by easing the tremendous debt the island country owed China.
    MUHIB RAHMAN, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2025
  • The lid lifters, who conduct their inspections just before crews are scheduled to pick up trash and recycling, have created some confusion because their inspections began with the city’s trash system in tremendous flux.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • But their collective decline from era-changing talents, who, in the case of Zverev and Medvedev, forced style changes across the tour with their combination of gigantic serves and elite movement and defense, illustrates how far Sinner and Alcaraz have pulled away.
    Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Getting that pilot picked up is another gigantic win that is getting rarer and rarer.
    Senior Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • China has undertaken a massive expansion of sites linked to missile production since 2020, bolstering its ability to potentially deter the US military and assert its dominance in the region, a new CNN analysis of satellite images, maps and government notices reveals.
    Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • For Native people, the war marked a dangerous fork in the road, stirring famine, spurring a massive refugee crisis, and permanently shifting the balance of power in the heart of the continent.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • That move, however, allowed the giant exhibitor to fully redeem all of its 2026 debt maturities.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Generative, predictive, and other forms of AI collectively are projected to generate as much as $340 billion annually in value creation for the global banking sector, consulting giant McKinsey has estimated.
    John Kell, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The sibling filmmaking duo spent most of the 2010s making a colossal two-part movie adaptation of King’s 1,138-page horror opus about a shapeshifting clown who terrorizes the small town of Derry, Maine.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Filler shots of chauffeurs, champagne and colossal walk-in closets with pristine designer clobber glistening and gleaming from glass shelves centred around trays and trays of priceless jewels assault the viewer’s senses between almost every scene.
    Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The stars of Stranger Things discuss the immense task of filming eight movie-length episodes over the course of one calendar year.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Under immense pressure and with Verstappen suddenly closing in, Antonelli couldn’t misstep.
    Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Enormous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enormous. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

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