e·nor·mi·ty

[ih-nawr-mi-tee]
noun, plural e·nor·mi·ties.
1.
outrageous or heinous character; atrociousness: the enormity of war crimes.
2.
something outrageous or heinous, as an offense: The bombing of the defenseless population was an enormity beyond belief.
3.
greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.

Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English enormite < Middle French < Latin ēnormitās. See enorm, -ty2

enormity, enormousness (see usage note at the current entry).


1. monstrousness, heinousness. 3. hugeness, vastness.


3. Enormity has been in frequent and continuous use in the sense “immensity” since the 18th century: The enormity of the task was overwhelming. Some hold that enormousness is the correct word in that sense and that enormity can only mean “outrageousness” or “atrociousness”: The enormity of his offenses appalled the public. Enormity occurs regularly in edited writing with the meanings both of great size and of outrageous or horrifying character, behavior, etc. Many people, however, continue to regard enormity in the sense of great size as nonstandard.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Enormity is always a great word to know.
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a fool or simpleton; ninny.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Collins
World English Dictionary
enormity (ɪˈnɔːmɪtɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -ties
1.  the quality or character of being outrageous; extreme wickedness
2.  an act of great wickedness; atrocity
3.  informal vastness of size or extent
 
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)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

enormity
late 15c., from Fr. énormité, from L. enormitatem, from enormis (see enormous).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Surviving villagers are still struggling to cope with the enormity of the
  disaster.
The bosses of big drugs firms have been horribly slow to grasp the enormity of
  their problems.
As a spiritual leader and a human being, she is still struggling to comprehend
  the enormity of the catastrophe.
As the fire truck drives away you can see the enormity of the fire.
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