Synonym Chooser

How is the word gigantic distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of gigantic are colossal, enormous, huge, immense, mammoth, and vast. While all these words mean "exceedingly large," gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

When is colossal a more appropriate choice than gigantic?

The words colossal and gigantic can be used in similar contexts, but colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

How do enormous and immense relate to one another, in the sense of gigantic?

Enormous and immense both suggest an exceeding of all ordinary bounds in size or amount or degree, but enormous often adds an implication of abnormality or monstrousness.

an enormous expense
an immense shopping mall

When might huge be a better fit than gigantic?

While the synonyms huge and gigantic are close in meaning, huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

When could mammoth be used to replace gigantic?

While in some cases nearly identical to gigantic, mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

When can vast be used instead of gigantic?

In some situations, the words vast and gigantic are roughly equivalent. However, vast usually suggests immensity of extent.

the vast Russian steppes

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gigantic To show that this number was positive for the first batch of instabilities, the mathematicians had to compute a gigantic sum. Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025 The Barbie movie in was a gigantic smash in 2023; additional Mattel IP includes Hot Wheels, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, Polly Pocket and Barney. Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025 But these are the companies that should do gigantic secondary stock sales. Jim Cramer, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2025 Camping World, a nationwide retail chain, began rolling out gigantic American flags in 2014 at its locations to honor veterans. Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gigantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gigantic
Adjective
  • The pitch clock has already gone a long way towards helping make baseball more accessible, but moving the first pitch back 25 minutes would still make a huge difference.
    Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Examples include huge catching nets, or docking with stray objects to force them back down into Earth's atmosphere.
    Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Of course, the heaviest anti-Shannon edit came from Sage, who noticed everything from the register of Shannon’s voice changing to her adversary being a giant shark wearing a cute seal mask.
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The team already is contracted with oilfield services giant Halliburton, IPT Well Solutions, and Stampede Drilling.
    Jordan Blum, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • My love for Stevie Wonder is enormous, and a lot of that comes from Joni’s love for Stevie Wonder.
    Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
  • That's an enormous gap, but what other team has a better claim as the league's 11th-best?
    Chase Goodbread, The Tuscaloosa News, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Trump on Sunday suggested Ukraine and Russia should freeze their bitter conflict along the current front lines, which would cede vast swathes of Ukrainian territory to Russia—which Kyiv has long refused to entertain.
    Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The vast majority of the population was illiterate.
    Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The Jays capitalized on the Dodgers’ weak middle relief after chasing starter Blake Snell in the sixth inning to bust open a massive lead.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • How to Watch Boise State vs Nevada Boise State enters as a massive favorite, having only lost two games this year, while winning five.
    Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This is tremendous news for the incredible people of Japan.
    Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The jewels are of tremendous national worth and their value incalculable.
    News Desk, Artforum, 20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • For the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, magnetic storms, triggered by colossal solar explosions, repeatedly disrupted those networks.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Just down the street from the colossal blue Scientology center (one of LA’s top locations for taking an ironic selfie) is Found Oyster, a delightful and perennially (pleasantly) crowded seafood restaurant inspired by clam shacks on the East Coast.
    Jocelyn Silver, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But SpaceX is not remotely ready to deliver, with serial failures of its mammoth Starship rocket delaying development of the lander.
    Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Supply chain bottlenecks that have long constrained an expansion of electricity grids are showing signs of easing, but plenty of other mammoth challenges remain, an executive at a major power infrastructure firm told Semafor.
    Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gigantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gigantic. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on gigantic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!