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Gargantua is the name of a giant king in François Rabelais's 16th-century satiric novel Gargantua, the second part of a five-volume series about the giant and his son Pantagruel. All of the details of Gargantua's life befit a giant. He rides a colossal mare whose tail switches so violently that it fells the entire forest of Orleans. He has an enormous appetite, such that in one incident he inadvertently swallows five pilgrims while eating a salad. The scale of everything connected with Gargantua led to the adjective gargantuan, which since William Shakespeare's time has been used for anything of tremendous size or volume.
Synonyms of gargantuan
Examples of gargantuan in a Sentence
Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
After spending this year working to implement as much of its gargantuan right-wing policy agenda, Project 2025, as possible, the Heritage Foundation has unveiled its anti-LGBTQ+ goals for 2026.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 23 Dec. 2025
Part tour guide, part dream coach, Ney’s job was to explain how such a gargantuan feat was even possible, especially built on a strata of unstable mud near a hotbed of seismic activity.
—Katie Lauer, Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2025
The bride-to-be revealed the news on Instagram, sharing a photo of her hand resting atop Ronaldo's, showcasing her gargantuan diamond.
—Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 19 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Gargantuan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gargantuan. Accessed 1 Jan. 2026.
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gargantuan
adjective
from Gargantua, a giant with an enormous appetite in books by the French author François Rabelais
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