Words / C1

MAGN-it-yood/ˈmæɡnɪtjuːd/

Magnitude is how large or important something is, especially when the scale is easy to miss: the magnitude of the task. Size is physical and everyday; importance is narrower. Scale is a close cousin. Collocations: the magnitude of the problem, an earthquake’s magnitude. In speech, how big it really is is enough; magnitude sounds like a briefing.

Meaning

The great size or importance of something.

Examples

• “They did not grasp the magnitude of the task.”
• “Few voters grasped the magnitude of the debt.”
• “Errors of this magnitude cannot be called slips.”

Good to know

the magnitude of + problem/task. Scale and importance. Everyday: how big / how serious.

Near in meaning

scale

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