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 It is planned to accommodate 33,000 people and will feature an enormous glass window that allows views of the Strip in the background, an 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, and a futuristic five-layer roofing system. Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025 An enormous photographic project, spanning nearly a century of Kentucky history, holds up a mirror to the state's past and present. Ray Padilla, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Oct. 2025 This was an enormous question that mystified the ancient world. Big Think, 30 Oct. 2025 The crust pressed into my spine, the enormous sky vaulting overhead. AFAR Media, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for enormous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enormous
Adjective
  • It’s been a huge hit with my guests, and right now, Prime members can add it to their carts for just $40.
    Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Her hair is often a massive tangle of black curls, her nails are expertly polished, her huge brown eyes peer out from spidery lashes, and her skin is cocoa-butter smooth.
    Stephanie Mansfield, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The modern digital world produces vast amounts of data (as much as 402 million TB a day), yet its value remains largely undefined.
    Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Entanglement—the idea that two particles are linked even at a vast distance—helped illustrate the characters’ desperate yearning to recreate the past.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The communiqué earned a tremendous amount of positive press.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
  • But people were tremendous and recording themselves watching the finale episode and crying or being shocked, in a pit of despair or whatever.
    Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • As the season shifts toward winter, the polar jet stream begins to shift south and can stir up storms that produce howling winds and gigantic waves in November on the Great Lakes.
    Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The drive-thru incident took place a month after authorities in Miami were called to remove a gigantic snake from a nearby work site.
    Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Landry, who charged LSU’s board of supervisors with leading the search for a new football coach, expressed dissatisfaction with the massive contract that Woodward had given Kelly, which included a buyout for as much as $53 million.
    The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
  • When Rubenstein asked whether the massive market capitalizations of major tech firms, some nearing $5 trillion, signal a potential bubble, Solomon offered a historical perspective.
    Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 31 Oct. 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
  • Her book objects might also take colossal form, as in 1967’s The Big Book, featuring eight-foot-by-four-foot pages secured to a central spine and moveable via casters.
    News Desk, Artforum, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Visitors entering the museum are greeted by the colossal 3,200-year-old, 11-meter-tall statue of King Ramses II, which stood for decades in central Cairo's Ramses Square before being relocated to its new home near the museum in 2006.
    Ayat Al-Tawy, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Chasing a record 299, South Africa made a sedate start under immense pressure from medium pacer Renuka Singh.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The technical, ethical, and environmental challenges are immense.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Enormous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enormous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.

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