enormity
noun
Susan SontagRichard FreedmanG. A. Craig 
Enormity vs. Enormousness: Usage Guide
Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning "great wickedness." Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal.
John Steinbeck
When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming
Paul Theroux
J. B. Conant
and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality.
New Republic
It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened
George Steiner
or of its consequences.
E. L. Doctorow
Did you know?
Although enormity has been used since the late 1700s to denote large size, this usage continues to be disparaged by various language commentators who argue that enormity should be reserved for senses related to "great wickedness." It is enormousness, they insist (a hefty and considerably less common word), that should be used in reference to great size, despite the fact that, like enormity, it too originally was used to denote wickedness or divergence from accepted moral standards. For better or worse, this proscription has been widely ignored by many English speakers, including professional writers. However one chooses to use them, enormity and enormous can both be traced back to the Latin enormis, from the prefix e- ("out of") and norma ("rule," "pattern," or "carpenter's square").
Synonyms
Examples of enormity in a Sentence
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
The enormity of the child care crisis is undeniable, and no singular solution can fully meet its complex demands.
—Christine Michel Carter, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024
To commemorate its 40th anniversary in 2024 and the enormity (and reciprocity) of that cultural footprint, festival leadership set a series of restoration screenings to highlight many of the most memorable films programmed throughout its history.
—Nick Clement, Variety, 16 Jan. 2024
The horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade are often expressed in numerical terms whose enormity can be difficult to grasp.
—Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Mar. 2024
Then the enormity of the collision hit him almost as hard as the vehicle that put him there.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 Dec. 2023
The enormity of the reaction to O'Connor's appointment had surprised her.
—Mark Sherman The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 2 Dec. 2023
The actors struggle, in accomplished and intentional ways, against the confusing enormity of loss.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024
Although the horrific experience of the Holocaust stands alone in its barbarity and enormity, the looting and destruction of artworks throughout occupied Ukraine by Russian forces today is a means of erasing Ukrainian culture and identity.
—Howard N. Spiegler, Fortune Europe, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'enormity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Enormity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enormity. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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enormity
noun
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