Meaning & use
immense
Last updated
UK/ɪˈmens/
US/ɪˈmɛns/
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Extremely large in size or amount.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be.
An immense crowd filled the square.
The ship was immense.
adjectivecomparable
Very great in degree, as feelings or effort.
Grammar: Used with abstract nouns: immense pride.
She felt immense relief when it ended.
The project took immense effort.
Word forms
| comparative | more immense |
|---|---|
| superlative | most immense |
Common combinations
- immense pressure
- He was under immense pressure.
- immense size
- The whale's immense size amazed us.
- immense pride
- They took immense pride in the work.
- immense value
- The painting has immense value.
Synonyms and how they differ
- huge
- Huge is the everyday word, less formal in feel.
- vast
- Vast suggests wide extent, like a desert.
- enormous
- Enormous stresses being far larger than normal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: immense or intense?
immense vs intense
Intense means very strong, not very large.
Practice
The explorers stared at the ___ canyon stretching beyond sight.
Choose one answer.
Immense fits an extremely large canyon. The others suggest small size.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “immense”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.