Immense Means Too Big to Measure
Immense means extremely large. Taken literally it means unmeasurable, which is a useful test of when to use it.
Immense means vast. The Latin says more than that: *im-* not, *mensus* measured — immense is what cannot be measured. That makes it a strong word, and it loses force when applied to things that clearly can be measured, like an immense sandwich.
- Extremely large. *An immense building.*
- Extremely great in degree. *Immense relief.*
- Immensely — very. *Immensely popular.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | immense | An immense effort. |
| Adverb | immensely | Immensely useful. |
| Noun | immensity | The immensity of space. |
| Related | vast | A vast plain. |
| Related | measureless | A measureless dark. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The task required immense patience.Abstract qualities suit the word.
- She was immensely proud of them.As an intensifier.
- The immensity of the loss took time to sink in.The noun is formal and rare.
Big words, in order
- Large — plain and neutral
- Huge — informal and strong
- Vast — wide as well as big, often about space
- Immense — beyond measuring
- Colossal — from the Colossus of Rhodes
From Latin *immensus*, unmeasured, from *in-* (not) and *mensus*, past participle of *metiri*, to measure — the same root as *measure*, *dimension* and *immensity*.
Immense or enormous?
They are close. Enormous originally meant abnormal, out of the norm; immense means unmeasurable. Both now simply mean very large.
Is *immensely* too strong for everyday use?
It is a strong intensifier, so it works best where the feeling really is out of the ordinary.