leviathan
noun
le·vi·a·than
li-ˈvī-ə-thən 
1
a
often capitalized
: a sea monster defeated by Yahweh in various scriptural accounts
b
: a large sea animal
this leviathan of animals is the great Blue Whale—
Weston LaBarre
Weston LaBarre2
capitalized
: the political state
especially
: a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy
3
: something large or formidable
that leviathan of international corporations
leviathan
adjective
Did you know?
Old Testament references to a huge sea monster, Leviathan (in Hebrew, Liwyāthān), are thought to come from an ancient myth in which the god Baal slays a multiheaded sea monster. Leviathan appears in the Book of Psalms, as a sea serpent that is killed by God and then given as food to creatures in the wilderness, and it is mentioned in the Book of Job as well. Today, its name is used for "something monstrous or of enormous size."
Synonyms
Examples of leviathan in a Sentence
The factory is a towering leviathan in the middle of the town.
a leviathan of the seas, that cruise ship is said to be the largest passenger vessel afloat
Recent Examples on the Web
This cultural leviathan was launched by the discovery that these ridiculous comic-book figures, generations old, could now land only if treated seriously, with sombre backstories and true stakes.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Elon Musk posted a photo on X of a large section of the Super Heavy booster being raised from the Gulf of Mexico, appearing like a twisted mythological Kraken or leviathan.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024
There, the company built a leviathan steel mill and an accompanying town named after its founding chairman, Elbert Henry Gary.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024
Not only do old plastic bottles provide better grist for the production of new plastic bottles—a fact that the soda industry is increasingly keen to take advantage of—but the fashion industry also needs to wrestle with its own leviathan end-of-life problem.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for leviathan 
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Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Elon Musk posted a photo on X of a large section of the Super Heavy booster being raised from the Gulf of Mexico, appearing like a twisted mythological Kraken or leviathan.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024
There, the company built a leviathan steel mill and an accompanying town named after its founding chairman, Elbert Henry Gary.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024
Not only do old plastic bottles provide better grist for the production of new plastic bottles—a fact that the soda industry is increasingly keen to take advantage of—but the fashion industry also needs to wrestle with its own leviathan end-of-life problem.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for leviathan
Dictionary Entries Near leviathan
Cite this Entry
“Leviathan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leviathan. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
leviathan
noun
le·vi·a·than
li-ˈvī-ə-thən
1
often capitalized
: a sea monster often standing for evil in the Old Testament and Christian literature
2
: something very large or powerful of its kind
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