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
Other prehistoric examples of autapomorphic giantism include the extinct mega-ducks of Hawaii, as well as the dodo, which was essentially an enormous pigeon, said Dr. Worthy.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2019
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
Other prehistoric examples of autapomorphic giantism include the extinct mega-ducks of Hawaii, as well as the dodo, which was essentially an enormous pigeon, said Dr. Worthy.
—Cara Giaimo, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2019
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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However, Bespoke noted that stocks' climb of around 20% is relatively small compared to historical performance in the aftermath of slides of this magnitude in the VIX.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
10 June 2025
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Although China is just one of the dozens of countries slapped with tariffs on its exports, the magnitude of products flowing from the country to the U.S. gives it a more outsized role on the trade lane and at the Port of Los Angeles itself.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
9 June 2025
Noun
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Egg-laying, too, has been cited as a critical factor in gigantism.—
Riley Black,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 May 2025
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This dramatic transformation is among the most extreme cases of island gigantism in birds, likely unfolding in under two million years as the eagle adapted to New Zealand’s ecosystem.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Noun
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For Córdova, that path began with a moment of astonishment: watching a television program about neutron stars as a young woman, she was struck by the immensity of the cosmos and felt the pull of a question that would guide her for a lifetime — how does the universe work?—
John Drake,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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But others, thankfully, find a way to talk about the immensity of caregiving and domestic work without degrading it.—
Elissa Strauss,
Glamour,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Giantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/giantism. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
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