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 relative strength index, or RSI, is a technical indicator that measures the speed and magnitude of recent price moves.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
30 Jan. 2026
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The magnitude of the admissions slowdown nationwide is hard to estimate because there’s no reliable count of the number of individual programs that quietly decided, without any central administration directive, to pull back on their numbers.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In April, Gabriel was diagnosed with gigantism, caused by high levels of growth hormone.—
Susan Young,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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But the vastness was really about fostering conditions in which his spectral harmonies could thrive.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
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Part of Greenland’s appeal, indeed, comes from both the vastness of the territory and the variety of its geological features.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
23 Jan. 2026
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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There was hugely more of it and less of me, rendered infinitesimal in the presence of this immensity.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
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Stevens chose to enact the story on a scale of mythic grandeur and timeless immensity.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Giantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/giantism. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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