great
Usage
What are other ways to say great?
In reference to the size and extent of concrete objects, great is highly formal and even poetic, suggesting also that the object is notable or imposing, large is only somewhat formal, and big is the most general and most colloquial word: a great oak; a large tree; a big tree; great plains; a large field; a big field. When the reference is to degree or a quality, great is the usual word: great beauty; great mistake; great surprise; although big sometimes alternates with it in colloquial style: a big mistake; a big surprise; large is usually not used in reference to degree, but may be used in a quantitative reference: a large number (great number).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After 9/11, the government punished ordinary Muslim Americans who refused its overtures to spy, at great personal cost, for it.
From Slate • May 26, 2026
I have promotional records by the Beatles and other great bands.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
“Micron, boy Micron’s great, they’re investing hundreds of billions,” Trump said in a rally in Suffern, New York, on Friday.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
This will also be a first home match in charge for the great Gheorghe Hagi, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid playmaker who scored in Cardiff 33 years ago.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Through the trees, he glimpsed a great dark shadow in the wreck of the shelter.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Vocabulary lists containing great
Spelling Practice, Unit 8
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Spelling Practice, Unit 8
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 5
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