mammoth 1 of 2

mammoth

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mammoth distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of mammoth are colossal, enormous, gigantic, huge, immense, and vast. While all these words mean "exceedingly large," mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

When might colossal be a better fit than mammoth?

Although the words colossal and mammoth have much in common, colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

How are the words enormous and immense related as synonyms of mammoth?

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 would gigantic be a good substitute for mammoth?

The words gigantic and mammoth can be used in similar contexts, but gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

When can huge be used instead of mammoth?

In some situations, the words huge and mammoth are roughly equivalent. However, huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

Where would vast be a reasonable alternative to mammoth?

The meanings of vast and mammoth largely overlap; 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 mammoth
Adjective
President Trump and Senate Republicans are facing a crucial week in their push to enact the mammoth bill containing their domestic agenda. Al Weaver, The Hill, 16 June 2025 It’s reportedly already being written, so hopefully no mammoth game this time. Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Noun
By seeing what’s different about the mammoth’s DNA, researchers can determine which parts of its genome were responsible for making a mammoth a mammoth, then edit an Asian elephant’s genome to express those mammoth traits. Mitchell Willetts, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025 All of them successfully expressed the gold, woolly hair of the mammoth as well as its accelerated lipid metabolism. Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mammoth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mammoth
Adjective
  • On June 30, Netflix premiered its documentary Shark Whisperer, which follows Ocean Ramsey in her unique (and controversial — and viral) approach to marine conservation: swimming freely with gigantic sharks for hours on end.
    Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 4 July 2025
  • Israel doesn’t have any heavy bombers, stealthy or otherwise, capable of carrying such gigantic bombs.
    Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
Noun
  • But staff say whales have been spotted in the area, with humpbacks finally making a return after a 25-year absence.
    Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 28 June 2025
  • The House Natural Resources Committee has also suggested weakening the Marine Mammal Protection Act with an apparent intent to unravel protections for species like the North Atlantic right whale and the Gulf of Mexico Rice’s whale.
    Christine Peterson, Vox, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • The bottom line is that this legislation acts as a giant wealth transfer from the poor to the rich and the young to the old.
    Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
  • The French American artist, who died in 2010, is best known for her giant sculptures of spiders, including a 20-foot-high bronze creation that sold for $32.8 million in 2023, setting a record-high price for a work by a female artist.
    Julia Teti, Footwear News, 30 June 2025
Noun
  • But finding small dinosaurs like this is much rarer, partly because they’re overlooked by fossil hunters searching for bigger, more impressive dinosaurs and partly because smaller skeletons are more likely to be ripped apart by predators and scavengers.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 25 June 2025
  • In the chaotic aftermath of the strike, roughly 75 percent of all species worldwide went extinct, including the non-avian dinosaurs.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • These benefits from huge Green Pine-series radars for early warning and to help cue fire control sensors towards incoming threats.
    Sebastien Roblin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • But this scraping has sparked a huge backlash from publishers, artists and writers, who complain that it has been done without any consent or compensation.
    Billy Perrigo, Time, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • Call of Cthulhu flipped a lot of gaming conventions on their head with characters that degraded over time and scenarios that rewarded fleeing monsters instead of slaying them.
    Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
  • Complaining on NextDoor about traffic, some locals fled downtown Austin like a movie monster was stomping behind them.
    Ramon Ramirez, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • And for what? To cover only a fraction of the enormous cost of the bill, which will add more than $3 trillion to the federal debt by 2034.
    Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025
  • With that enormous amount of moisture serving as fuel, the winds hitting the escarpment in West Texas served as a kind of match that started the storms.
    Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 6 July 2025
Noun
  • Mundelein is also home to the current development elephant in the county: The 700-acre Wirtz property on the village’s western edge, dubbed Ivanhoe Village.
    Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2025
  • As the ladies stir and spill tea, the elephant in the apron is clear: Brit and Kelli still haven’t spoken since the trip.
    Shelby Stewart, Essence, 22 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mammoth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mammoth. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

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