enormity

/ɪˈnɔrmədi/

Other forms: enormities

An enormity is something extreme or huge, almost beyond comprehension. If you call having to paint the house all by yourself an enormity, your friends might take pity on you and show up with brushes and rollers.

Something that's enormous can be good — a huge paycheck! — or bad, such as a tumor. But when it comes to enormity, some word lovers are up in arms. The word originally meant "a crime," so some people think it should only be used to describe wickedness or lack of morals. Others can't resist the word's similarity to enormous and apply it to anything vast, positive or negative.

Definitions of enormity

1. noun

   the quality of extreme wickedness
   type of:

   nefariousness, ugliness, vileness, wickedness

   the quality of being wicked
2. noun

   the quality of being outrageous
   synonyms: outrageousness

   type of:

   indecency

   the quality of being indecent
3. noun

   an act of extreme wickedness
   type of:

   atrocity, inhumanity

   an act of atrocious cruelty
4. noun

   vastness of size or extent
   “in careful usage the noun enormity is not used to express the idea of great size”

   “universities recognized the enormity of their task”

   type of:

   enormousness, grandness, greatness, immenseness, immensity, sizeableness, vastness, wideness

   unusual largeness in size or extent or number