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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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
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The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
17 Oct. 2025
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Although the team may be surrounded by noise and adversity, the Eagles could use a trade of this magnitude to get things back on track.—
Cameron Belcher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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To get a better idea of the vastness of the Milky Way, get out into the countryside where the sky is pitch dark.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
12 Oct. 2025
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Kidman laughed, delighted at the vastness of the universe.—
Wendell Steavenson,
Vogue,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
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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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Between every frame a disjunctive gap intrudes, subdividing the whole back into its parts, and thereby confronting the viewer with the plethora of copy culture, a barely manageable immensity of data.—
Jan Tumlir,
Artforum,
1 Sep. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Giantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/giantism. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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