pharaonic

adjective

phar·​a·​on·​ic ˌfer-ā-ˈä-nik 

often capitalized

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a pharaoh or the pharaohs

2

: enormous in size or magnitude

pharaonic construction projects

Synonyms

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

Examples of pharaonic in a Sentence

the building of the Hoover Dam was a construction project of pharaonic proportions

Recent Examples on the Web

Aswan Aswan is the jumping off point for Abu Simbel, Ramses II’s two breathtaking temples, apotheoses (along with the pyramids) of pharaonic power. —Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, 18 June 2023

Strongmen have a notorious attraction to pharaonic public works, but democratic leaders are said to have the edge in summoning the innovation required to complete them. —Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 11 Dec. 2023

They’re drawn to the pharaonic history and art, of course, but also to the more contemporary galleries and studios that today form Cairo’s design scene. —Gisela Williams, Travel + Leisure, 12 Aug. 2023

Devote the first day to pharaonic Egypt: the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx in the morning, followed by the Memphis Museum and a walkabout of the vast funerary complex of Sakkara. —Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, 18 June 2023

Ancient Tombs at Saqqara The year-long excavation also uncovered two new tombs that are significantly older than the embalming workshops and date back 4,400 and 3,400 years, to the fifth and 18th pharaonic dynasties, respectively. —Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 1 June 2023

Aswan was always a frontier town, the last bastion of pharaonic religion, centered on the powerful cult of Isis worship in the temple of Philae. —Klara Glowczewska, Town & Country, 18 June 2023

Here are some of the most magnificent monuments of pharaonic Egypt — and the ancient world generally. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2015

Dahabiyas are descendants of pharaonic vessels. —Mark Ellwood, Town & Country, 17 June 2022

Word History

Etymology

French pharaonique, from pharaon pharaoh, from Late Latin Pharaon-, Pharao

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1