Colossal Definition, Examples, and Usage Guide

Meaning 1：extremely large (colossal)

colossal 🔊

/kəˈlɒsəl/

adj.

Extremely large in size, amount, or degree, like a giant or a mountain.

Colossal dinosaur skeleton towering over tiny visitors in museum

extremely large 🔊

➕

/ɪkˈstriːmli lɑːrdʒ/

adj.

Colossal describes something incredibly huge, towering in size, scale, or impact, often evoking awe or grandeur.

📁 Category：Buildings & Places 🔖 Level：advanced

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'colossus' (giant statue) + suffix '-al' (relating to).

💡 Mnemonic

Colossal = COLossus + AL; imagine a towering statue that dwarfs everything around it.

📖 Example

The colossal Great Wall of China winds its way through mountains and valleys, a testament to ancient engineering. 🔊 The extremely large Great Wall of China winds its way through mountains and valleys, a testament to ancient engineering.

🔗 Collocations

colossal failure – A failure of enormous scale or consequences

colossal statue – A statue of giant proportions

colossal waste – An extremely large amount of wasted resources

🔄 Synonyms

gigantic (adj.) – Of very great size or extent; huge.

enormous (adj.) – Very large in size, quantity, or extent.

immense (adj.) – Extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree.

🚫 Antonyms

tiny (adj.) – Of a very small size or amount.

minuscule (adj.) – Extremely small; tiny.

insignificant (adj.) – Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.

🌱 Derivatives

colossally (adv.) – In a manner that is extremely large or immense.

colossus (n.) – A statue that is much bigger than life size; a person or thing of great size or influence.

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from the Greek word 'kolossos', referring to the Colossus of Rhodes, a giant statue of the sun god Helios built around 280 BC. The word came to mean anything of immense size.