colossal

adjective

co·​los·​sal kə-ˈlä-səl 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a colossus

colossal statues

2

: of a bulk, extent, power, or effect approaching or suggesting the stupendous or incredible

colossal rock formations

colossal stellar explosions

3

: of an exceptional or astonishing degree

a colossal failure

a colossal bore

colossal ambition

colossally

kə-ˈlä-sə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• astronomical
• astronomic
• Brobdingnagian
• bumper
• cosmic
• cosmical
• cyclopean
• elephantine
• enormous
• galactic
• gargantuan
• giant
• gigantesque
• gigantic
• grand
• herculean
• heroic
• heroical
• Himalayan
• huge
• humongous
• humungous
• immense
• jumbo
• king-size
• king-sized
• leviathan
• mammoth
• massive
• mega
• mighty
• monster
• monstrous
• monumental
• mountainous
• oceanic
• pharaonic
• planetary
• prodigious
• super
• super-duper
• supersize
• supersized
• titanic
• tremendous
• vast
• vasty
• walloping
• whacking
• whopping

Choose the Right Synonym for colossal

enormous, immense, huge, vast, gigantic, colossal, mammoth mean exceedingly large.

enormous and immense both suggest an exceeding of all ordinary bounds in size or amount or degree, but enormous often adds an implication of abnormality or monstrousness.

an enormous expense

an immense shopping mall

huge commonly suggests an immensity of bulk or amount.

incurred a huge debt

vast usually suggests immensity of extent.

the vast Russian steppes

gigantic stresses the contrast with the size of others of the same kind.

a gigantic sports stadium

colossal applies especially to a human creation of stupendous or incredible dimensions.

a colossal statue of Lincoln

mammoth suggests both hugeness and ponderousness of bulk.

a mammoth boulder

Examples of colossal in a Sentence

a colossal statue of the town's founder

Recent Examples on the Web

Lunar Client debuted in April 2019 and struggled financially in its early days, but the company remained self-funded, with founders often going unpaid, before the platform’s popularity gained colossal momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic. —Matt Gardner, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025

The colossal storm will put over 100 million people at risk of severe weather, from blizzard conditions in the northern Plains to tornadoes and wildfires in the South. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2025

But the colossal extinct creature was also probably thinner than previously thought, according to a new study. —Daniel Wine, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025

In any administration, overseeing the FDA’s sprawling, vital work is a colossal undertaking. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see colossus

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for colossal

• apostle
• hydrocele
• nitrosyl
• subbasal
• docile
• fossil
• jostle
• hypoglossal
• nannofossil

Kids Definition

colossal

adjective

co·​los·​sal kə-ˈläs-əl 

1

: of, relating to, or resembling a colossus

especially : of very great size

a colossal office building

2

: extraordinary, exceptional

colossal growth

a colossal failure

colossally

-ə-lē 

adverb