cavernous

[ kav-er-nuhs ]

adjective

1. being, resembling, or suggestive of a cavern:

   a vast, cavernous room.

2. deep-set:

   cavernous eyes.

3. hollow and deep-sounding:

   a cavernous voice.

4. containing caverns.
5. full of small cavities; porous.

cavernous

/ ˈkævənəs /

adjective

1. suggestive of a cavern in vastness, darkness, etc

   cavernous hungry eyes

2. filled with small cavities; porous
3. (of rocks) containing caverns or cavities

Derived Forms

• ˈcavernously, adverb

Other Words From

• cavern·ous·ly adverb
• inter·cavern·ous adjective
• un·cavern·ous adjective
• un·cavern·ous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cavernous¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word cavernōsus. See cavern, -ous

Example Sentences

And in the back of the cavernous warehouse, in a secure hangar, Gnatalie stands for the first time in 150 million years.

From Los Angeles Times

It uses a cavernous hood to trap crustaceans to eat — a feeding strategy also used by anemones and some jellies.

From Los Angeles Times

Tuesday at the California Democratic Party’s election event in a cavernous hotel ballroom in downtown L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

At times, the actors spoke their lines from obscure corners of the cavernous playing area.

From Los Angeles Times

Peering over her glasses, the French judge glanced sternly across the cavernous underground courtroom towards a notorious figure seated in a glass cage.

From BBC

Related Words

• gaping
• huge
• roomy
• spacious
• vast
• yawning