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 That day, she was declared cancer-free — an enormous win. Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA Today, 19 May 2025 President Donald Trump has an enormous opportunity to exercise world class leadership in this area, as American leaders did after World War II. Robert Hormats, Time, 18 May 2025 Sometimes it will be received with enormous applause and sometimes it will be received not so well. Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 May 2025 This gives the American government enormous power over other countries while freeing it from the need to abide by international laws that most other countries follow. Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for enormous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enormous
Adjective
  • Tesla sales have experienced a huge international decline, leaving room for competitors to gain momentum.
    Charles Singh, USA Today, 16 May 2025
  • Old Navy Cargo Pants My teen is a huge fan of Old Navy and just discovered their cargo pants, and she’s been begging for a new pair ever since.
    Jacquelyn Smith, Parents, 15 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
  • Nonetheless, Schaffer’s golden opportunity comes with tremendous obstacles.
    Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 13 May 2025
  • 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
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
  • 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
  • Comments Getting to the end of Survivor is a massive accomplishment.
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • Since 2013, two giant sculptures of soaring eagles with 50-foot wingspans—one of which carried the wizard Gandalf on its back—have welcomed travelers to New Zealand’s Wellington International Airport.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • And the strain of being out in the air in those conditions is immense.
    Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 14 May 2025
  • But, the scale of need is immense, and supporting everyone who requires urgent help requires a far greater response than the efforts of civil society organizations alone.
    Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • This sudden flash of light accompanied by a colossal burst of subatomic particles is called a solar flare.
    Phil Plait, Scientific American, 1 May 2025
  • The scientists hope to eventually be able to capture an adult colossal squid on camera.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Enormous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enormous. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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