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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Something never done in a game of that magnitude!—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
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In their view, the disruption is the visible price of long-overdue capital flowing into a part of the state that has rarely attracted projects of this magnitude.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Whatever showy gigantism the Kennedy Center was burdened with at the start, there will almost surely be more of it after he’s done.—
Christopher Robbins,
Curbed,
9 Feb. 2026
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As the Seahawks hoisted the trophy on the field, amid the gigantism and confetti cannons and surfeit on display, a sense of perspective seemed to have been restored.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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After a catastrophic debris strike destroys their shuttle during a spacewalk, Sandra Bullock’s astronaut is left untethered, spinning silently against the vastness of space, while George Clooney’s veteran astronaut tries to guide her from a distance.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
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Even their vision of outer space seldom imparts the sense of a terrifying, unknowable vastness.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Nowhere in the vestiges of what was once the sprawl of corporate hugeness known as The General Electric Company are there signs that Katharine Blodgett's laboratory notebooks still exist.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
13 Mar. 2026
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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
Noun
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The immensity of joining the franchise meant that choosing a jersey number wasn’t something Durbin took lightly.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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Shaboozey Shaboozey was in awe of the immensity of his RodeoHouston debut and mentioned it throughout the show.—
Joey Guerra,
Houston Chronicle,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Giantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/giantism. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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