massive

Very large in size or extent.

Adjective

  1. Very large in size or extent.
    • Compared to its counterparts from World War II, the Abrams main battle tank is truly massive.
    • The Enlightenment involved massive shifts in many areas of Western thought.
    • 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...
  2. Substantial in mass; bulky, heavy and solid.
    • A massive comet or asteroid appears to have ended the era of the dinosaurs.
    • 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...
    • 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...
  3. To a very great extent; total, utter.
    • 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:
  4. Of particularly exceptional quality or value; awesome.
    • Did you see Colbert last night? He was massive!
    • Ok true believers here is the low down of massive coolness. - 1995 November 29, harry knowles, “INDEPENDENCE DAY---MASSIVE COOL SPOILERS DON'T OPEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW”, in rec.arts.sf.movies (Usenet):
    • Heaps excited about it - I'm planning for a massive day. - 1998 February 13, David Farrar, “Re: Te Papanz.reg.wellington.general”, in nz.reg.wellington.general (Usenet):
  5. Outstanding, beautiful.
    • Your dress is massive, love. Where did you get it?
  6. Affecting a large portion of the body, or severe.
    • a massive heart attack
  7. Having any mass.
    • Some bosons are massive while others are massless.
  8. Homogeneous, unstructured.

    1. (mineralogy) Not having an obvious crystalline structure.

Origin

From Middle English massif, from Middle French massif, equivalent to mass + -ive. The Irish sense is possibly derived from Irish mas (“fine, handsome”).

Forms

more massive most massive

Synonyms

bulky heavy hefty substantial weighty colossal enormous gargantuan giant gigantic great huge mahoosive titanic consequential meaningful overwhelming significant awesome super excellent stupendous

Antonyms

insubstantial light dwarf little microscopic midget minuscule pint-sized tiny wee inconsequential insignificant piddling trifling trivial unimportant lame stale disappointing crappy massless

Derived

gravitationally interacting massive particle hypermassive mahoosive massive and compact halo object massive astronomical compact halo object massive astrophysical compact halo object massive compact halo object massively massiveness massive palindrome massive parallelism massive resistance massive retaliation massivity nonmassive once-massive overmassive robust association of massive baryonic objects strongly interacting massive particle submassive supermassive super weakly interacting massive particle supramassive ultramassive

Noun

  1. A homogeneous mass of rock, not layered and without an obvious crystal structure.
    • karst massives in western Georgia
  2. A group of people from a locality, or sharing a collective aim, interest, etc.
    • Big up to the Croydon massive!

    Synonyms: clique gang set

Forms

massives