enormous
enormous Lexical Profile
enormous Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Very large in size, quantity, or extent; exceeding usual bounds or proportions.
"The ancient cathedral featured an enormous stained-glass window that illuminated the entire nave."
Extraordinary in degree, intensity, or significance.
"Completing the transcontinental railway required an enormous effort from thousands of laborers."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'enormous' refers simply to great size or degree, the related noun 'enormity' traditionally refers to great wickedness or a monstrous crime, though in modern usage 'enormity' is increasingly used to mean 'enormousness' (vast size or scale).
• Rhymes for enormous
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 16th century from Latin enormis ('out of rule, irregular, immense'), formed from ex ('out of') and norma ('rule, pattern'). It originally carried the sense of exceeding moral bounds or being outrageous before settling primarily into the meaning of extraordinary size.