immense
adjective
H. Latimer Jackson
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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."
Synonyms of immense
Examples of immense in a Sentence
Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 6 Jan. 2026
In Mumbai, the scale of poverty and homelessness is so immense that the value of an individual life is often crushingly little.
—Saumya Roy, The Dial, 6 Jan. 2026
The waters of Butler Bay on the island's west side hide immense treasures for eager divers, making this one of the most fascinating dive sites near the island.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 4 Jan. 2026
Despite these immense challenges, 96% of our students graduate, and every traditional school in the county is rated A, B, or C.
—Dick Batchelor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for immense
Cite this Entry
“Immense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immense. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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immense
adjective
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