as in magnitude
the quality or state of being very large
the American taste for giantism: big cars, big houses, big servings of food
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of giantism
Brontotheres, the ancient North American ancestors of the horse, is a giantism outlier as—growing from around 40 pounds to four to five tons in 16 million years.
—
Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 16 May 2023
In an especially mind-bending passage, Wengrow and Graeber show that the majority of Paleolithic tombs contained not grandees but individuals with physical anomalies including dwarfism, giantism, and spinal abnormalities.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022
The researchers think the parrot evolved this way because of a phenomenon known as autapomorphic giantism, in which a member of an otherwise moderately sized group becomes humongous by taking over an empty ecological niche.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2019
The extraordinary success of the giant three-ring circus gave rise to other forms of exportable American giantism, such as amusement parks, department stores, and shopping malls.
—Janet M. Davis, Smithsonian, 22 Mar. 2017
Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 16 May 2023
In an especially mind-bending passage, Wengrow and Graeber show that the majority of Paleolithic tombs contained not grandees but individuals with physical anomalies including dwarfism, giantism, and spinal abnormalities.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022
The researchers think the parrot evolved this way because of a phenomenon known as autapomorphic giantism, in which a member of an otherwise moderately sized group becomes humongous by taking over an empty ecological niche.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2019
The extraordinary success of the giant three-ring circus gave rise to other forms of exportable American giantism, such as amusement parks, department stores, and shopping malls.
—Janet M. Davis, Smithsonian, 22 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for giantism
Noun
-
The drop in bond yields is notable though the magnitude of the decline to 4% on the 10-year in recent days is not dramatic.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
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Only a sociopath or a sadist could tell a lie of this magnitude, but again, such broad characters are par for the course in shows like this.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Cut off from outside populations, Rome’s freshwater crabs developed a form of gigantism.—
Krista Langlois,
Smithsonian Magazine,
7 July 2025
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There were several pictures of people suffering from gigantism, a defect that makes the pituitary gland produce excess growth hormone.—
Jane Smiley
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
Our Universe may be full of stars, galaxies, and a cosmic web of large-scale structure, all separated by the vastness of empty space between them, but it wasn’t born that way.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
11 Sep. 2025
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Director Reinaldo Marcus Green keeps his camera low to emphasize the vastness of the tennis world bearing down on Venus, all while Richard (Will Smith) watches on, ever enigmatically, from the tunnels.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
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
Noun
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To appreciate the full moral weight and dramatic immensity of these moments means grasping the significance of the moments leading up to them—and the ones that come afterward.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Aug. 2025
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Not even the best paintings or photographs can ever trace its immensity; only fractions can be glimpsed and never held for long.—
Tom Zoellner,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Giantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/giantism. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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