enormity

e·nor·mi·ty

E0152700 (ĭ-nôr′mĭ-tē)n. pl. e·nor·mi·ties 1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.3. Usage Problem Great size; immensity.

[French énormité, from Old French, from Latin ēnormitās, from ēnormis, unusual, enormous; see enormous.]Usage Note: Enormity is frequently used to refer simply to the property of being great in size or extent, but many people would prefer that enormousness (or a synonym such as immensity) be used for this general sense, and that enormity be limited to situations that demand a negative moral judgment, as in 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. A majority of the Usage Panel has rejected the general use of enormity since the 1960s, and although resistance to this usage has lost some of its intensity, it remains strong. In our 1967 survey, 93 percent of the Panel rejected the word's use to refer to physical extent in the example The enormity of Latin America is readily apparent from these maps. In both our 1988 and 2002 surveys, 59 percent of the Panel rejected the use of enormity as a synonym for immensity in the example At that point the engineers sat down to design an entirely new viaduct, apparently undaunted by the enormity of their task. Even if one sides with the dissenting 41 percent and allows for enormity's largeness, it may be best to avoid it in phrases like the enormity of the president's election victory and the enormity of her inheritance, where enormity's sense of monstrousness may give rise to unintended smirks.

enormity

(ɪˈnɔːmɪtɪ) n, pl -ties1. the quality or character of being outrageous; extreme wickedness2. an act of great wickedness; atrocity3. informal vastness of size or extent[C15: from Old French enormite, from Late Latin ēnormitās hugeness; see enormous]Usage: In modern English, it is common to talk about the enormity of something such as a task or a problem, but one should not talk about the enormity of an object or area: distribution is a problem because of India's enormous size (not India's enormity)

e•nor•mi•ty

(ɪˈnɔr mɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties. 1. outrageous or heinous character; monstrousness: the enormity of the crime. 2. something outrageous or heinous, as an offense. 3. greatness of size, scope, or extent; immensity: The enormity of the task was overwhelming. [1425–75; < Middle French < Latin] usage: enormity has been in continuous use in the sense “immensity” since the 18th century. Some hold that enormousness is the correct word in that sense and that enormity can only mean “outrageousness” or “atrociousness.” enormity occurs regularly in edited writing with the meanings both of great size and of outrageous or horrifying character, behavior, etc. Some people, however, continue to condemn its use in the sense “great size.”

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	enormity - the quality of being outrageousoutrageousnessindecency - the quality of being indecent
	2.	enormity - vastness of size or extent; "in careful usage the noun enormity is not used to express the idea of great size"; "universities recognized the enormity of their task"immenseness, immensity, sizeableness, vastness, enormousness, grandness, greatness, wideness - unusual largeness in size or extent or numbercolloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
	3.	enormity - the quality of extreme wickednessnefariousness, vileness, ugliness, wickedness - the quality of being wicked
	4.	enormity - an act of extreme wickednessatrocity, inhumanity - an act of atrocious cruelty

enormity

noun1. (Informal) hugeness, extent, magnitude, greatness, vastness, immensity, massiveness, enormousness, extensiveness He was appalled by the enormity of the task ahead of him.2. wickedness, disgrace, atrocity, depravity, viciousness, villainy, turpitude, outrageousness, baseness, vileness, evilness, monstrousness, heinousness, nefariousness, atrociousness the enormity of the crime they had committed3. atrocity, crime, horror, evil, outrage, disgrace, monstrosity, abomination, barbarity, villainy the horrific enormities perpetrated on the islanders

enormity

noun1. The quality of passing all moral bounds:atrociousness, atrocity, heinousness, monstrousness.2. The quality or state of being flagrant:atrociousness, atrocity, egregiousness, flagrance, flagrancy, flagrantness, glaringness, grossness, outrageousness, rankness.3. A monstrous offense or evil:atrocity, monstrosity, outrage.

Translations

凶暴巨大庞大

enormous

(iˈnoːməs) adjective very large. The new building is enormous; We had an enormous lunch.巨大的eˈnormousness noun巨大eˈnormity noun1. great wickedness. 凶暴2. hugeness. 巨大，庞大

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enormous

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noun hugeness

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noun wickedness

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noun atrocity

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Synonyms for enormity

noun the quality of passing all moral bounds

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noun the quality or state of being flagrant

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noun a monstrous offense or evil

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Synonyms for enormity

noun the quality of being outrageous

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noun vastness of size or extent

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noun the quality of extreme wickedness

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noun an act of extreme wickedness

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