immense

adjective

im·​mense i-ˈmen(t)s 

1

: marked by greatness especially in size or degree

especially : transcending ordinary means of measurement

the immense universe

2

: supremely good

immenseness noun

Did you know?

Just how big is something if it is immense? Huge? Colossal? Humongous? Ginormous? Or merely enormous? Immense is often used as a synonym of all of the above and, as such, can simply function as yet another way for English speakers to say "really, really, really big." Immense is also used, however, in a sense which goes beyond merely really, really, really big to describe something that is so great in size or degree that it transcends ordinary means of measurement. This sense harks back to the original sense of immense for something which is so tremendously big that it has not been or cannot be measured. This sense reflects the word's roots in the Latin immensus, from in- ("un-") and mensus, the past participle of metiri ("to measure").

Synonyms

• astronomical
• astronomic
• Brobdingnagian
• bumper
• colossal
• cosmic
• cosmical
• cyclopean
• elephantine
• enormous
• galactic
• gargantuan
• giant
• gigantesque
• gigantic
• grand
• herculean
• heroic
• heroical
• Himalayan
• huge
• humongous
• humungous
• jumbo
• king-size
• king-sized
• leviathan
• mammoth
• massive
• mega
• mighty
• monster
• monstrous
• monumental
• mountainous
• oceanic
• pharaonic
• planetary
• prodigious
• super
• super-duper
• supersize
• supersized
• titanic
• tremendous
• vast
• vasty
• walloping
• whacking
• whopping

Choose the Right Synonym for immense

enormous, immense, huge, vast, gigantic, colossal, mammoth mean exceedingly large.

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

huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

vast usually suggests immensity of extent.

the vast Russian steppes

gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

Example Sentences

He inherited an immense fortune.

She is an artist of immense talent.

Recent Examples on the Web

Although solar energy is immense, its variations are tiny. —Howard Lee, Ars Technica, 15 Mar. 2023

The dangers involved for people attempting to reach the U.S on small boats are immense, Spitler said. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2023

For Cohasset, junior captain Sarah Chenette was immense, with 18 of her game-high 32 points coming after halftime. —Ethan Fuller, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Mar. 2023

By early Friday afternoon, the scale of the flooding was already immense. —Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2023

Despite its small size, the project will still deliver immense benefits. —Lisa Murkowski, CNN, 8 Mar. 2023

Even when users successfully block their harassers, the ongoing mental health impact of seeing a deluge of attacks is immense; in other words, the damage is already done. —Gina Neff Rumman Chowdhury, WIRED, 28 Feb. 2023

The room for growth is immense, and maybe with the right guys in place, the secondary can take strides in 2023. —Dallas News, 23 Feb. 2023

The pressure for the Arizona factory to succeed is immense. —Paul Mozur, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin immensus immeasurable, from in- + mensus, past participle of metiri to measure — more at measure

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

immense

adjective

im·​mense im-ˈen(t)s 

: very great in size or amount

especially : not capable of being measured by ordinary means

the immense universe

immensely adverb

immenseness noun

Etymology

from early French immense "immense, huge," from Latin immensus "boundless, too great to be measured," from im-, in- "not" and mensus, past participle of metiri "to measure" — related to dimension, measure