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.
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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.
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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 abnormal frequency of tornado outbreaks means some Illinoisans are facing a natural disaster of this magnitude for the first time.
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That is when the United States duels Australia on Friday in a World Cup match hyped by a budding rivalry, next-phase magnitude, and home-field aura.
Noun
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The warm, humid rainforest environment supports its gigantism, making its combination of size, defenses, and opportunism a successful evolutionary strategy.
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The unforgettable fight was part of 2018's Andre the Giant, which looked back at the life of the wrestler, whose size was a result of gigantism caused by excess growth hormone.
Noun
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In Alaska, bush pilots often brave cruel November weather to carry ballots from the vastness of America's largest state, with some arriving after polls close.
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This week will bring that fiery adrenaline into your soul, pushing you to explore the depths within, but also the vastness of the world and other people.
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.
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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.
Noun
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Combining the immensity of an ocean liner and the elegance of a swan, the 747 is the only commercial jet that deserves to be called beautiful.
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The immensity of the body of water, which resembles an 186-mile vericose vein snaking across southern Utah, is difficult to comprehend or convey.
Cite this Entry
“Giantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/giantism. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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