e ‧ nor ‧ mous S2 W3 AC /ɪˈnɔːməs $ -ɔːr-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ enormity ; adverb : ↑ enormously ; adjective : ↑ enormous ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: enormis 'out of the ordinary' , from norma 'rule' ]
very big in size or in amount SYN huge :
an enormous bunch of flowers
an enormous amount of money
The team made an enormous effort.
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THESAURUS
■ very big
▪ huge/massive/enormous extremely big:
The table was enormous.
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a huge explosion
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Their house is huge.
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There is a huge amount of work to be done.
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There has been a massive increase in oil prices.
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The company is massive, operating in 150 countries.
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A massive fire destroyed more than thirty homes.
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He’s been under an enormous amount of stress recently.
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The changes will have an enormous impact.
▪ great [only before noun] very big – used especially to describe the level or number of something:
He achieved great success in America.
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The college offers a great number of courses.
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a great advantage
▪ vast extremely big – used about areas, distances, numbers, or amounts:
vast areas of rainforest
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A vast number of tourists visit the island every year.
▪ gigantic extremely big and much bigger than other things of the same type:
Gigantic waves crashed onto the beach.
▪ colossal extremely big – used about amounts or objects:
James ran up a colossal phone bill.
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a colossal statue of Napoleon
▪ tremendous having an extremely big effect:
There have been some tremendous changes.
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My new job will be a tremendous challenge.
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The children were making a tremendous amount of noise.