enormity vs enormousness :

enormity or enormousness

Originally these two words were synonymous, but “enormity” got whittled down to meaning something monstrous or outrageous. Don’t wonder at the “enormity” of the Palace of Versailles unless you wish to express horror at this embodiment of Louis XIV’s ego.

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Definitions

  • n  the quality of being outrageous
  • n  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
  • n  the quality of extreme wickedness
  • n  an act of extreme wickedness

  • n  unusual largeness in size or extent or number
News & Articles

  • Beaten players: Merion deserves another U.S. Open
    HAVERFORD — Heading into U.S. Open week, the question was whether cramped Merion Golf Club could handle the enormity of another national championship tournament, its first in 32 years. Following four days and 72 holes, the question has become this: When will it be back?
    June 21, 2013 - Main Line Times
  • Rugby-Lions kicker Halfpenny revels in a world of his own
    By Nick Mulvenney BRISBANE, June 20 (Reuters) - Leigh Halfpenny will try to shut out the enormity of a lifetime's "mad dream" coming to fruition on Saturday by closing his mind to focus on kicking the British and Irish Lions to victory in the first test against Australia. The 24-year-old Welsh fullback will go into the Lang Park clash on the crest of a wave after outstanding performances in the ...
    June 20, 2013 - Reuters via Yahoo! Sports
  • Have you seen Stephen Colbert's tribute to his late mother?
    Lorna Tuck Colbert, the mother of Stephen Colbert, was born on Chatsworth Avenue in Larchmont and died June 12 at the age of 92. Last night, at the start of his show, he offered a heartfelt tribute to his mother. "The fact that my mother was 92 does not diminish, it only magnifies the enormity of the room whose door has now quietly shut," Colbert tells his audience. What do you think of this ...
    June 20, 2013 - The Journal News