■ noun ( plural enormities )
1》 ( the ~ of ) the large scale or extreme seriousness of (something bad).
↘(in neutral use) the great size or scale of.
2》 a grave crime or sin.
Origin
ME (orig. in the sense 'deviation from rectitude'): via OFr. from L. enormitas , from enormis , from e- 'out of' + norma 'pattern, standard'.
Usage
In its earliest sense ~ meant ‘a crime’ and some argue that it should therefore continue to be used only of contexts in which a negative moral judgement is implied. Nevertheless, in modern English ~ is often simply used as a synonym for hugeness ( the ~ of his intellect ), and this is now broadly accepted in standard English.