colossal
adjective
co·los·sal kə-ˈlä-səl 
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a colossus
colossal statues
2
: of a bulk, extent, power, or effect approaching or suggesting the stupendous or incredible
colossal rock formations
colossal stellar explosions
3
: of an exceptional or astonishing degree
a colossal failure
a colossal bore
colossal ambition
colossally
kə-ˈlä-sə-lē
adverb 
Synonyms
- astronomical
- astronomic
- Brobdingnagian
- bumper
- cosmic
- cosmical
- cyclopean
- elephantine
- enormous
- galactic
- gargantuan
- giant
- gigantesque
- gigantic
- grand
- herculean
- heroic
- heroical
- Himalayan
- huge
- humongous
- humungous
- immense
- jumbo
- king-size
- king-sized
- leviathan
- mammoth
- massive
- mega
- mighty
- monster
- monstrous
- monumental
- mountainous
- oceanic
- pharaonic
- planetary
- prodigious
- super
- super-duper
- supersize
- supersized
- titanic
- tremendous
- vast
- vasty
- walloping
- whacking
- whopping
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a colossal statue of the town's founder
Recent Examples on the Web The colossal rocket, however, may still need to roll back to Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building. 
Katie Hunt, CNN, 10 Sep. 2022 The colossal temple to Morgoth even strikingly parallels the plans laid by Hitler’s architect, Albert Speer, for a Volkshalle (people’s hall). John Garth, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Sep. 2022 In the pipeline is Tom Brady, who earlier this year agreed to a colossal 10-year, $375-million deal with Fox that’s due to kick in when his playing career ends. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 An absolutely colossal high pressure system — aka the heat dome — is now entering Day 7 of its grip over California, and the Bay Area has been at the forefront of some of its most jarring temperatures. Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Sep. 2022 From the Tolkien stories to the newest show, the LOTR franchise is colossal. Mark Stock, Men's Health, 7 Sep. 2022 But in escaping what would have been a colossal setback to start the season, PSU stayed on course to compete for a major bowl, avoided a burgeoning quarterback controversy and pulled out the sort of narrow win that eluded last year's team. Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2022 The buffs will increase your damage output by a colossal amount. Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022 Using the latest software innovations, scientists are finally able to not only harvest colossal amounts of data, but also sift and sort through it in significantly less time. Hannah Fish, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Aug. 2022 See More
Katie Hunt, CNN, 10 Sep. 2022 The colossal temple to Morgoth even strikingly parallels the plans laid by Hitler’s architect, Albert Speer, for a Volkshalle (people’s hall). John Garth, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Sep. 2022 In the pipeline is Tom Brady, who earlier this year agreed to a colossal 10-year, $375-million deal with Fox that’s due to kick in when his playing career ends. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 An absolutely colossal high pressure system — aka the heat dome — is now entering Day 7 of its grip over California, and the Bay Area has been at the forefront of some of its most jarring temperatures. Gerry Díaz, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Sep. 2022 From the Tolkien stories to the newest show, the LOTR franchise is colossal. Mark Stock, Men's Health, 7 Sep. 2022 But in escaping what would have been a colossal setback to start the season, PSU stayed on course to compete for a major bowl, avoided a burgeoning quarterback controversy and pulled out the sort of narrow win that eluded last year's team. Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2022 The buffs will increase your damage output by a colossal amount. Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022 Using the latest software innovations, scientists are finally able to not only harvest colossal amounts of data, but also sift and sort through it in significantly less time. Hannah Fish, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
see colossus
First Known Use
1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
colossal
adjective
co·los·sal kə-ˈlä-səl
: very large : huge
a colossal success
She gave the ball a colossal heave.
colossal
adjective
as in gigantic
unusually large a colossal statue of the town's founder Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- gigantic
- huge
- enormous
- giant
- massive
- vast
- tremendous
- mammoth
- monumental
- immense
- titanic
- astronomical
- monstrous
- bumper
- monster
- big
- gargantuan
- mighty
- mountainous
- sizable
- humongous
- mega
- astronomic
- oceanic
- prodigious
- grand
- elephantine
- cosmic
- great
- oversize
- super
- heroic
- whopping
- leviathan
- herculean
- planetary
- jumbo
- humungous
- walloping
- cyclopean
- galactic
- substantial
- considerable
- supersized
- oversized
- whacking
- pharaonic
- staggering
- majestic
- gigantesque
- Brobdingnagian
- formidable
- supersize
- heroical
- king-sized
- major
- vasty
- hulking
- imposing
- good
- cosmical
- handsome
- super-duper
- extensive
- king-size
- hefty
- outsize
- gross
- infinite
- stupendous
- voluminous
- Himalayan
- grandiose
- towering
- overwhelming
- bulky
- overgrown
- cavernous
- outsized
- sizeable
- tidy
- monolithic
- goodly
- lofty
- largish
- august
- immeasurable
- boundless
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- tiny
- minuscule
- microscopic
- miniature
- infinitesimal
- diminutive
- micro
- small
- teensy
- teeny
- pygmy
- puny
- microscopical
- bitty
- pocket
- midget
- wee
- mini
- little
- little bitty
- bantam
- smallish
- minute
- Lilliputian
- petite
- undersized
- microminiature
- undersize
- teeny-weeny
- teensy-weensy
- dinky
- dwarfish
- pint-sized
- pint-size
- half-pint
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of colossal are enormous, gigantic, huge, immense, mammoth, and vast. While all these words mean "exceedingly large," colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.
a colossal statue of Lincoln
Enormous and immense both suggest an exceeding of all ordinary bounds in size or amount or degree, but enormous often adds an implication of abnormality or monstrousness.
an enormous expense
an immense shopping mall
In some situations, the words gigantic and colossal are roughly equivalent. However, gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.
a gigantic sports stadium
Although the words huge and colossal have much in common, huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.
incurred a huge debt
While in some cases nearly identical to colossal, mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.
a mammoth boulder
The words vast and colossal can be used in similar contexts, but vast usually suggests immensity of extent.
the vast Russian steppes
- literalisations
- literalise
- literalised
- literaliser
- literalisers
- literalises
- literalising
- literalism
- literalisms
- literalist
- literalistic
- literalists
- literalities
- literality
- literalization
- literalizations
- literalize
- literalized
- literalizers
- literalizes
- literalizing
- literally
- literalness
- literalnesses
- literals