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 Any trade would involve a gigantic return that would carve into their current team and involve prime future assets. Eric Stephens, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025 The Patriots cruising into halftime with a gigantic lead. Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 29 Sep. 2025 Here, slowly being swallowed by vegetation and worn down by time, are gigantic mausoleums, vast underground cisterns, temples, imposing city walls and a breathtaking theater perched, like Machu Picchu, on a hilltop that offers views stretching for miles all around. Barry Neild, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025 While in 2022, another homeowner caught the moment a gigantic spider made itself at home on a doorbell security camera in Australia. Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gigantic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gigantic
Adjective
  • More pertinently, if Iroegbunam or Gueye tired or did not screen passes correctly (shown below), Rogers and Emiliano Buendia had huge spaces to receive and turn, owing to Everton’s deep centre-backs refusing to step out.
    Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Mason had a huge game against the Bengals in Week 3, racking up 116 yards and two touchdowns on two carries.
    Jacob Camenker, USA Today, 5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • A little further out, there’s a much more conventional factory site, where giant industrial mixers mass-produce the Firmenich scents.
    Peter Vanham, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Those weeks saw students, pensioners, veterans, doctors and teachers stand in freezing temperatures around giant stages, teaching politicians that this was not a crowd to lead, but one to follow.
    Nick Spicer, NPR, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The Apple Valley Model Railroad Museum has an enormous (22 feet by 100 feet) model railroad built in a picturesque Western North Carolina landscape.
    Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Thanks to Google’s enormous war chest, Waymo has had the luxury to spend 16 years raking in data to create more precise self-driving cars, all with the hope of an eventual payoff.
    Saahil Desai, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This is important because Kane is 32, Gnabry is 30, and 23-year-old Olise will surely be subject to vast offers to go back to the Premier League in the coming seasons.
    Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The vast majority of people want to be productive members of society and contribute to their communities.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The year Goldberg-Polin and her family arrived in Israel, the country launched Operation Cast Lead, a massive military operation aimed at halting intensifying Hamas mortar, missile and rocket fire terrorizing southern Israeli communities.
    Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Roan performs on a set that looks like a massive Gothic castle with a drawbridge, parapets and a throne.
    Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Composure personified, underpinned by tremendous work rate.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Uncovering this story, coupled with the recognition that the raw ingredients that led to life on Earth are found in billions of star systems across our galaxy and in trillions of galaxies across the observable Universe, has led to some tremendous questions and some equally tremendous speculations.
    Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • What happened from there led to a colossal collapse.
    Omar Kelly Updated October 6, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Buffett will remain chairman at Berkshire and will still be involved in deciding how to spend the conglomerate’s colossal pile of more than $344 billion cash.
    Dave Smith, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The mammoth rock wall rises 3,000 feet above a meadow below.
    Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Playing catch-up from the very start of a regulation set is a mammoth task to overcome, though.
    Luke Smith, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Gigantic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gigantic. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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