enormity

CEFRC2

/ɪˈnɔːmɪti/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The great size, seriousness, or evil of something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A breach of law or morality; a transgression, an act of evil or wickedness.

Examples

  • He was unaware of the enormity of the offense.

  • You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [-ɾi]
  • /ɪˈnoɹmɪti/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Deviation from moral normality; extreme wickedness, nefariousness, or cruelty.

  2. Deviation from what is normal or standard; irregularity, abnormality.

  3. Great size; enormousness, hugeness, immenseness.

More examples

In context

  • Not until the war ended and journalists were able to enter Cambodia did the world really become aware of the enormity of Pol Pot’s oppression.

  • I had an obscure feeling that all was not over, and that he would still commit some signal crime, which by its enormity should almost efface the recollection of the past.

  • Hannah Arendt coined the phrase "the banality of evil" in her dispatches for The New Yorker from Adolf Eichmann's trial in Jerusalem in 1961. It was her attempt to square the mediocrity of the man with the enormity of his crimes.

Synonyms

Quick test

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The blank of the crime shocked even the most experienced detective.

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Late Middle English ēnorme (“monstrous or unnatural act; enormity”), from Old French énormité (“enormity”), from Latin ēnormitās (“irregularity; enormity”), from ēnōrmis (“irregular, unusual; enormous, immense”) + -itās (suffix forming nouns indicating states of being). Ēnōrmis is derived from e- (a variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘out; away’) + nōrma (“norm, standard”) + -is (Latin suffix forming adjectives from nouns).