humongous

[ hyoo-muhng-guhs, -mong-or, often, yoo- ]

adjective

, Slang.

1. extraordinarily large.

humongous

/ ˌhjuːˈmʌŋɡəs /

adjective

1. exceptionally large; huge

Word History and Origins

Origin of humongous¹

First recorded in 1965–70; Americanism; expressive coinage, perhaps reflecting huge and monstrous with stress pattern of tremendous

Word History and Origins

Origin of humongous¹

C20: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

This year, he decided to build a skeleton so humongous that it shifted the scale of skeleton-themed decor by yet another order of magnitude.

From Washington Post

It was this humongous thing that had happened in my life, the biggest thing that had ever happened to me.

From Outside Online

The cookies that inspired lines around the block are now easier to get, but you have to heat them yourselfWe can largely thank Levain for ushering in the trend of humongous, warm cookies that are chewy on the inside, but crispy on the out.

From Eater

He suggests that putting on a humongous road race is the perfect way to celebrate our deliverance from the plague.

From Outside Online

It was getting pretty gross, and my lips were just absolutely humongous.

From Washington Post

And much of what could be a humongous tab will be shouldered by taxpayers.

From The Daily Beast

A former prime minister, Ayad Allawi, is a Shiite with humongous support among Sunnis.

From The Daily Beast

The art and branding ventures during Art Basel were less financially humongous, but agile and ambitious.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• colossal
• elephantine
• enormous
• gargantuan
• ginormous
• humungous
• immense

More About Humongous

What does humongous mean?

Humongous is an informal way of saying extraordinarily large or huge. Some things are more than huge—they’re humongous.

A similarly informal synonym is ginormous. Other synonyms include gigantic, enormous, gargantuan, colossal, and mammoth.

The word is most often applied to physical objects whose size makes you marvel with awe. Blue whales are humongous. Skyscrapers are humongous. The Grand Canyon is humongous.

But it can also be applied to intangible things, as in With all the champagne and caviar that we ordered, the bill for dinner is going to be humongous. 

Like any adjective used to describe something’s size, humongous is often used in a way that’s relative to the situation. Many things described as humongous are objectively huge, like redwood trees or the planet Jupiter. But something might be considered humongous only in comparison to other similar things. For example, an unusually large grapefruit might be described as humongous even though it’s not all that big in general—it’s simply humongous compared to normal-sized grapefruits.

Humongous is sometimes casually used to mean extremely important or significant—much like the figurative use of big and huge, as in This is a humongous win for the franchise. Sometimes, this is negative, as in humongous error, humongous failure, or humongous misunderstanding. Because it’s so informal, it’s unlikely to be used in very serious situations.

Example: You don’t realize how humongous the sun is until you see an image of a planet next to it for scale.

Where does humongous come from?

The first records of the word humongous come from around 1970. It’s origin is uncertain, but it’s probably modeled after or based on a combination of words like huge, monstrous, and tremendous. It was first used in the U.S.

Humongous is typically used to emphasize how huge something really is. Because it’s very informal, it’s often used to be humorous or exaggerate. Ginormous is often used in the same way.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for humongous?

• ginormous
• gigantic
• giant
• gargantuan
• huge
• colossal
• mammoth
• enormous
• immense
• massive
• gigantean

What are some words that often get used in discussing humongous?

• large
• size
• building
• monster
• mountain

How is humongous used in real life?

Humongous is informal. It’s used to describe things that are truly massive. It’s also commonly used in an exaggerated way to describe something that’s very large compared to others of its kind.

Humongous dinosaur heavier than ten elephants is the biggest yet: https://t.co/wDEIUcEVVC pic.twitter.com/CYdMTtdpk5 #ForbesTech

— Anna Ercilla (@annaercilla) August 10, 2017

Holy guacamole! That is such a humongous ship! 😱😱 https://t.co/YSEIODmZg9

— Sara Sihaloho (@caramelalo) May 11, 2015

P.E.I. man grows humongous beet, enough for '10 meals' https://t.co/nOaira72jI pic.twitter.com/5NvbxolC4y

— CBC Canadian News (@CBCCanada) November 14, 2020

 

Try using humongous!

Which of the following words is a synonym of humongous?  

A. gigantic
B. ginormous
C. gargantuan
D. all of the above