Synonym Chooser

How is the word vast distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of vast are colossal, enormous, gigantic, huge, immense, and mammoth. While all these words mean "exceedingly large," vast usually suggests immensity of extent.

the vast Russian steppes

When might colossal be a better fit than vast?

The words colossal and vast 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 vast?

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

Where would gigantic be a reasonable alternative to vast?

Although the words gigantic and vast have much in common, gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

When could huge be used to replace vast?

The synonyms huge and vast are sometimes interchangeable, but huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

When would mammoth be a good substitute for vast?

The meanings of mammoth and vast largely overlap; however, mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

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 vast The thousand-year-old, two-hundred-foot Douglas Fir stands in the midst of a vast clear-cut on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, a towering beanstalk surrounded by acres of cornfield stubble. Brad Badelt, Outside, 11 Nov. 2025 The vast property is listed in Franklin for a whopping $24 million and has strong connections to the music world. Tj MacIas, Charlotte Observer, 11 Nov. 2025 The Google Play Store app is blocked in China as part of the government’s vast censorship apparatus known as the ‘Great Firewall’. Steven Jiang, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025 Cora can make use of cutting-edge language models without spending vast amounts of money to build one itself. Cal Newport, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for vast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vast
Adjective
  • At the center of all the glitzy havoc—her face often looming on a huge flat screen that rolls around the stage, following actors like a hulking LED stalker—is of course Chenoweth.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Todd also had a huge sack in the fourth quarter.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Danielewski is a writer of enormous power and vision.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Some of this, of course, is related to fires in California and hurricanes in the southeast that destroyed an enormous amount of utility infrastructure.
    Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • But their collective decline from era-changing talents, who, in the case of Zverev and Medvedev, forced style changes across the tour with their combination of gigantic serves and elite movement and defense, illustrates how far Sinner and Alcaraz have pulled away.
    Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Getting that pilot picked up is another gigantic win that is getting rarer and rarer.
    Senior Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • As the anti-India movement in the Maldives gained momentum, China exploited the United States’ absence, rapidly expanding its regional footprint by easing the tremendous debt the island country owed China.
    MUHIB RAHMAN, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2025
  • The lid lifters, who conduct their inspections just before crews are scheduled to pick up trash and recycling, have created some confusion because their inspections began with the city’s trash system in tremendous flux.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • China has undertaken a massive expansion of sites linked to missile production since 2020, bolstering its ability to potentially deter the US military and assert its dominance in the region, a new CNN analysis of satellite images, maps and government notices reveals.
    Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • For Native people, the war marked a dangerous fork in the road, stirring famine, spurring a massive refugee crisis, and permanently shifting the balance of power in the heart of the continent.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • That move, however, allowed the giant exhibitor to fully redeem all of its 2026 debt maturities.
    Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Generative, predictive, and other forms of AI collectively are projected to generate as much as $340 billion annually in value creation for the global banking sector, consulting giant McKinsey has estimated.
    John Kell, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The stars of Stranger Things discuss the immense task of filming eight movie-length episodes over the course of one calendar year.
    Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Under immense pressure and with Verstappen suddenly closing in, Antonelli couldn’t misstep.
    Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The sibling filmmaking duo spent most of the 2010s making a colossal two-part movie adaptation of King’s 1,138-page horror opus about a shapeshifting clown who terrorizes the small town of Derry, Maine.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Filler shots of chauffeurs, champagne and colossal walk-in closets with pristine designer clobber glistening and gleaming from glass shelves centred around trays and trays of priceless jewels assault the viewer’s senses between almost every scene.
    Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Vast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vast. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.

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