enormity
[ ih-nawr-mi-tee ]
/ ɪˈnɔr mɪ ti /
noun, plural e·nor·mi·ties
outrageous or heinous character; atrociousness: the enormity of war crimes.
something outrageous or heinous, as an offense: The bombing of the defenseless population was an enormity beyond belief.
greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.
Origin of enormity
SYNONYMS FOR enormity
usage note for enormity
3.
Enormity has been in frequent and continuous use in the sense “immensity” since the 18th century:
The enormity of the task was overwhelming. Some hold that
enormousness is the correct word in that sense and that
enormity can only mean “outrageousness” or “atrociousness”:
The enormity of his offenses appalled the public.
Enormity occurs regularly in edited writing with the meanings both of great size and of outrageous or horrifying character, behavior, etc. Many people, however, continue to regard
enormity in the sense of great size as nonstandard.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH enormity
enormity enormousness (see usage note at the current entry)Words nearby enormity
enolize,
enology,
enophile,
enophthalmos,
enorm,
enormity,
enormous,
enormousness,
enos,
enosis,
enostosis
Example sentences from the Web for enormity
British Dictionary definitions for enormity
enormity
/ (ɪˈnɔːmɪtɪ) /
noun plural -ties
the quality or character of being outrageous; extreme wickedness
an act of great wickedness; atrocity
informal
vastness of size or extent
Word Origin for enormity
C15: from Old French
enormite, from Late Latin
ēnormitās hugeness; see
enormous
usage for enormity
In modern English, it is common to talk about the
enormity of something such as a task or a problem, but one should not talk about the
enormity of an object or area:
distribution is a problem because of India's enormous size (not
India's enormity)