Replies

"Despite the enormity of the task," said Quentin Wheeler, director of NSF's division of environmental biology... Shamless pedantic bump Main Entry: enor·mi·ty Pronunciation: i-'nor-m&-tE Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural -ties Date: 15th century 1 : an outrageous, improper, vicious, or immoral act 2 : the quality or state of being immoderate, monstrous, or outrageous; especially : great wickedness 3 : the quality or state of being huge : IMMENSITY 4 : a quality of momentous importance usage Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning "great wickedness." Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal . When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality . It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened or of its consequences .