immense

English

Etymology

From Middle French immense, from Latin immensus, from in- (not) + mensus (measured). Compare incommensurable.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪˈmɛns/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛns

Adjective

immense (comparative immenser, superlative immensest)

  1. Huge, gigantic, very large.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, [] , down the nave to the western door. [] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
  2. (colloquial) Supremely good.
  3. (colloquial) Major; to a great degree.

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

immense (plural immenses)

  1. (poetic) Immense extent or expanse; immensity.
    • 1882, James Thomson (B. V.), Despotism Tempered by Dynamite:
      The half of Asia is my prison-house,
      Myriads of convicts lost in its Immense
      I look with terror to my crowning day.
    • 1994, New Times International, numbers 1-8, page 9:
      The events that took place in the immenses of the former USSR three years ago remind one about ancient rule of everyday life which is equally applicable both to daily routine and to politics: []

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Adjective

immense

  1. inflection of immens:
    1. masculine/feminine singular attributive
    2. definite neuter singular attributive
    3. plural attributive

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin immēnsus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /i(m).mɑ̃s/
  • (file)

Adjective

immense (plural immenses)

  1. immense, huge
    Synonyms: énorme, incommensurable

Derived terms

Further reading

Italian

Adjective

immense f pl

  1. feminine plural of immenso

Latin

Adjective

immēnse

  1. vocative masculine singular of immēnsus
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