I. ˈhyüj also ˈyüj adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English huge, hoge, modification of Old French ahuge, ahoge
: very large or extensive: as
a. : of great size or area : gigantic , vast
the two ships settled … to the bottom, each with a huge hole in her hull — T.E.Cooney
huge organizations like the American Express Company — Richard Joseph
a huge country estate
huge number of stories — G.B.Saul
b. : of sizable scale or degree : enormous
the days of the NRA when there was huge government spending — T.W.Arnold
huge popular demand for higher education — V.S.Pritchett
glowered … from under his heavy brows with a huge disgust — G.D.Brown
turns … a dismal failure into a huge success — Jeanne Massey
c. : of limitless scope or character : unbounded
his huge personal talent — Virgil Thomson
go through rubbish heaps and find rings and scissors and broken noses buried in the huge past — Virginia Woolf
huge sense of destiny — Henry Wallace
Synonyms:
vast , immense , enormous , elephantine , mammoth , giant , gigantic , gigantean , colossal , gargantuan , herculean , cyclopean , titanic , brobdingnagian : huge is a rather general term indicating extreme largeness, usually in size, bulk, or capacity
an enormous volume of heavy, inky vapor, coiling and pouring upward in a huge and ebony cumulus cloud — H.G.Wells
the Texan question and Mexican War made huge annexations of Southwestern territory certain — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
vast denotes extreme largeness or broadness, especially of extent or range
the Great Valley of California, a vast elliptical bowl averaging 50 miles in width and more than 400 miles long — American Guide Series: California
consider the vast varieties of religions ancient and modern — M.R.Cohen
immense suggests size far in excess of ordinary measurements or accustomed concepts
an immense quill, plucked from a distended albatross' wing — Herman Melville
found the balloon at an immense height indeed, and the earth's convexity had now become strikingly manifest — E.A.Poe
the immense waste of war — D.W.Brogan
enormous also indicates a size or degree exceeding accustomed bounds or norms
heavy wagons, enormous loads, scarcely any less than three tons — American Guide Series: California
the princes of the Renascence lavished upon private luxury and display enormous amounts of money — Lewis Mumford
elephantine suggests the cumbersome or ponderous largeness of the elephant
similar elephantine bones were being displayed … as relics of the “giants” mentioned in the Bible — R.W.Murray
elephantine grain elevators — American Guide Series: New York
mammoth is similar to elephantine
her parties were … mammoth — she rarely invited fewer than 100 people — Time
a mammoth cyclotron — G.F.Whicher
giant indicates unusual size or scope
loaded with a typical unit of giant industrial equipment, the new car weighs more than a million pounds — Pa. Railroad Annual Report
his giant intellect
gigantic and the less common gigantean are close synonyms of giant , perhaps more likely to be used in metaphorical extensions
gigantic jewels that a hundred Negroes could not carry — G.K.Chesterton
a justice of the Supreme Court … however gigantic his learning and his juridic rectitude — H.L.Mencken
colossal may suggest vast proportion
three sets of colossal figures of men and animals … the largest man is 167 feet long — American Guide Series: California
the sun blazed down … the heat was colossal — C.S.Forester
gargantuan suggests the hugeness of Rabelais's Gargantua and is often used in reference to appetites and similar physical matters
gargantuan breakfasts … pigs' knuckles and sauerkraut, liver and bacon, ham and eggs, beef stew — Edna Ferber
herculean suggests the superhuman power of the Greek hero Hercules or the superhuman difficulties of his famous labors
a Herculean task confronted them. Some 1700 miles of track had to be laid through a wilderness — Allan Nevins and H.S.Commager
cyclopean suggests the superhuman size and strength of the Cyclops of Greek mythology
of cyclopean masonry, consisting of very large blocks of stone — Scientific American
titanic suggests colossal size and, often, primitive earth-shaking strength
titanic water fronds speedily choked both those rivers — H.G.Wells
it was his titanic energy that broke the fetters of medievalism — M.R.Cohen
brobdingnagian suggests the hugeness of the inhabitants of Brobdingnag in Gulliver's Travels
a brand-new Brobdingnagian hotel — Benjamin D'Israeli
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from huge, hoge, adjective
: hugely
the sky was swelling huge with the last dusk — John Dos Passos