Words / C1

i-NORM-uh-tee/ɪˈnɔːməti/

Enormity is great wickedness, or an outrageous act — not merely large size: the enormity of the breach, grasp the enormity. Enormous (already in the dictionary) is the size adjective; inventing an n is a methods fail, not a rounding.

Meaning

Great wickedness, or an outrageous act (not merely large size; related to enormous, already in the dictionary).

Examples

• “The enormity of an invented n is a methods fail, not a rounding.”
• “Outrage is the close twin. Atrocity is stronger. A rounding is talk. A cell is a count. Put the raw number in; then round in the codebook if the rule still allows it.”

Good to know

Outrageous wickedness (not mere size). Related: enormous (already in the dictionary). A rounding ≠ a true n.

Near in meaning

outrage, atrocity, wickedness

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