Cyclopean

[ sahy-kluh-pee-uhn, sahy-klop-ee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of or characteristic of the Cyclops.
2. (sometimes lowercase) gigantic; vast.
3. (usually lowercase) Architecture, Building Trades. formed with or containing large, undressed stones fitted closely together without the use of mortar:

   a cyclopean wall.

Cyclopean

/ ˌsaɪkləʊˈpiːən; saɪˈkləʊpɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling the Cyclops
2. denoting, relating to, or having the kind of masonry used in preclassical Greek architecture, characterized by large dry undressed blocks of stone

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cyclopean¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin Cyclōpē(us), from Greek Kyklṓpeios (equivalent to Kýklōp(s) + -eios adjective suffix) + -an; Cyclops, -eous, -an

Example Sentences

The problem is that compared to a Cyclopean eye in the sky or a boat getting sliced to pieces by an invisible web out of Stephen King’s “The Mist,” none of this is all that interesting.

From New York Times

“They are like apotropaic amulets warding off the evil eye: an army of ever-watchful, unblinking, cyclopean eyes,” wrote critic Zoé Samudzi in a short monograph of William’s work published in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times

Excavations conducted on and around the Cyclopean terrace revealed an elite district composed of plazas, paved roads and administrative buildings, with large megara, or great halls used for formal events, at the center.

From New York Times

Systematic excavations in 2009 revealed that the mysterious mound was in fact the buried remains of a Cyclopean terrace, a multistory building foundation constructed of massive boulders typically found only at palaces and important Mycenaean capitals.

From New York Times

A chandelier over the dining table made from resin-coated cow bladders cascades through a double-height space next to a cliff of Cyclopean rocks.

From New York Times