immense

[ih-mens]

adjective

1. vast; huge; very great.

   an immense territory.

   Synonyms: extensive

2. immeasurable; boundless.

3. Informal.,  splendid.

   You did an immense job getting the project started.

immense

/ ɪˈmɛns /

adjective

1. unusually large; huge; vast

2. without limits; immeasurable

3. informal,  very good; excellent

Other Word Forms

• immensely adverb
• immenseness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of immense¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin immēnsus “huge, boundless, immeasurable,” equivalent to im- “un-” + mēnsus, past participle of mētīrī “to measure”; im- ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of immense¹

C15: from Latin immensus, literally: unmeasured, from _im- (not) + mensus measured, from mētīrī to measure

Synonym Study

See huge.

Example Sentences

The health minister said Jennifer Welsh's appointment came at a time of "immense challenge and opportunity".

From BBC

California is physically immense, too, stretching approximately 800 miles from north to south, which makes costly advertising the only realistic way to communicate in a statewide top-of-the-ticket contest.

From Los Angeles Times

Birchwood Community High School introduced pouches to lock phones last September and head teacher Emma Mills has previously said the affect has been "immense" in "every layer of school".

From BBC

And it can't be overlooked that for all the talk of record spending, the Reds are defending their title this season against the backdrop of immense grief and sadness.

From BBC

And consider what an immense waste of taxpayers’ money this deployment of the National Guard is.

From Salon

Related Words

• boundless 
• colossal 
• endless 
• enormous 
• extensive 
• gigantic 
• great 
• huge 
• immeasurable 
• infinite 
• limitless 
• mammoth 
• massive 
• monstrous 
• monumental 
• prodigious 
• tremendous 
• vast