immense
adjective
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Just how big is something if it is immense? Huge? Colossal? Humongous? Ginormous? Or merely enormous? Immense is often used as a synonym of all of the above and, as such, can simply function as yet another way for English speakers to say "really, really, really big." But immense is also used in a sense which goes beyond merely really, really, really big to describe something that is so great in size or degree that it transcends ordinary means of measurement. This sense harks back to the original sense of immense for something which is so tremendously big (such as, say, the universe) that it has not been or cannot be measured. This sense reflects the word's roots in the Latin immensus, from in- ("un-") and mensus, the past participle of metiri, "to measure."
Examples of immense in a Sentence
Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 22 Sep. 2025
These are atomic-scale scars caused by the immense pressures of an impact shockwave.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
Businesses have struggled to survive Despite immense progress, local businesses are still reeling without full access to the roadway.
—Graham Hurley, CNN Money, 21 Sep. 2025
Justin Herbert, in the face of immense pressure, finds Keenan Allen in the end zone for the touchdown.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for immense
Cite this Entry
“Immense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immense. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
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immense
adjective
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