gigantic

[jahy-gan-tik, ji-]

adjective

1. very large; huge.

   a gigantic statue.

   Synonyms: titanic, cyclopean, herculean, prodigious, immense, enormous
   Antonyms: tiny

2. of, like, or befitting a giant.

gigantic

/ dʒaɪˈɡæntɪk /

adjective

1. very large; enormous

   a gigantic error

2. Also: gigantesque. of or suitable for giants

Other Word Forms

• gigantically adverb
• giganticness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gigantic¹

1605–15; from Latin gigant- giant + -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of gigantic¹

C17: from Greek gigantikos, from gigas _giant

Synonym Study

Gigantic, colossal, mammoth, monstrous are used of whatever is physically or metaphorically of great magnitude. Gigantic refers to the size of a giant, or to size or scope befitting a giant: a gigantic stalk of corn. Colossal refers to the size of a colossus, to anything huge or vast as befitting a hero or god: a colossal victory. Mammoth refers to the size of the animal of that name and is used especially of anything large and heavy: a mammoth battleship. Monstrous means strikingly unusual or out of the normal in some way, as in size: a monstrous blunder.

Example Sentences

Times, and the volume of papers was so gigantic, and it would come with these white ties to hold it all together.

From Los Angeles Times

But he draws resilience from his recent music, which evokes the gigantic accomplishments and withering abuse Robinson faced as the first Black player in Major League Baseball.

From Los Angeles Times

It is wrong to think of the basin as a void to be filled up; better to view it as a gigantic canvas on which its settlers painted a new, transformative future for their state.

From Los Angeles Times

Rescue operations are under way in Uttarkashi district after a gigantic wave of water gushed down the mountains into Dharali village on Tuesday, submerging roads and buildings in its path.

From BBC

It is a maze of paths, tunnels and mines, all set on staggered gigantic terraces cut into the mountainside overlooking Llanberis on the edge of the national park.

From BBC

Related Words

• behemothic www.thesaurus.com
• colossal 
• enormous 
• gargantuan 
• giant 
• huge 
• immense 
• jumbo 
• mammoth 
• massive 
• monstrous 
• tremendous 
• vast 

When To Use

What does gigantic mean?

Gigantic means extraordinarily large or huge. Some things are more than huge—they’re gigantic.The word is most often applied to physical objects whose size makes you marvel with awe. Blue whales are gigantic. Skyscrapers are gigantic. The Grand Canyon is gigantic.But it can also be applied to intangible things, as in With all the champagne and caviar that we ordered, the bill for dinner is going to be gigantic. Similar adjectives are gargantuan, giant, colossal, and mammoth. A more formal synonym is massive. A more informal synonym is humongous. An even more informal synonym is ginormous (a blend of giant or gigantic and enormous). A much less common variant of gigantic is gigantean.Like any adjective used to describe something’s size, gigantic is often used in a way that’s relative to the situation. Many things described as gigantic are objectively huge, like redwood trees or the planet Jupiter. But something might be considered gigantic only in comparison to other similar things. For example, an unusually large grapefruit might be described as gigantic even though it’s not all that big in general—it’s simply gigantic compared to normal-sized grapefruits.Gigantic is sometimes casually used to mean extremely important or significant—much like the figurative use of big and huge, as in This is a gigantic win for the franchise. Sometimes, this is negative, as in gigantic error, gigantic failure, or gigantic misunderstanding.Example: You don’t realize how gigantic the sun is until you see an image of a planet next to it for scale.