Massive Meaning
/ˈmæs.ɪv/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjVery large in size or extent.
adjSubstantial in mass; bulky, heavy and solid.
Sentence Examples
We came up against massive popular resistance.
This is the most massive structure I have ever seen.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The explosion caused ____ damage to the entire building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The construction crew used a ____ crane to lift the heavy steel beams into place for the bridge.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English massif, from Middle French massif, equivalent to mass + -ive. The Irish sense is possibly derived from Irish mas (“fine, handsome”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion.""
— 2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy […] ”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30:
"Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete."
— 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
"But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw, peeping around the massive silver epergne that almost obscured him from her view, that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either."
— 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
"Young Jupiter was smacked head-on by massive newborn planet […] "The only scenario that resulted in a core-density profile similar to what Juno measures today is a head-on impact with a planetary embryo about 10 times more massive than Earth," Liu said."
— 2019 August 15, “Young Jupiter was smacked head-on by massive newborn planet”, in Rice University News, archived from the original on 01 Oct 2020:
"Notwithstanding Catherine's assurances, I was apprehensive about meeting Denys, worried that I would come off as a massive idiot […]"
— 2007, Christine Conrad, Mademoiselle Benoir, page 171:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The explosion caused ____ damage to the entire building.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The construction crew used a ____ crane to lift the heavy steel beams into place for the bridge.