You searched for: “enormity”
enormity (i NOR mi tee) (s) (noun), enormities (pl)
1. The quality of being outrageous; a very evil or morally offensive deed; an act of extreme wickedness: The citizens of the town were unable to believe the enormity of the atrocious crime that resulted when all five of the children were killed by their father.
2. An excessive wickedness or outrageousness, a monstrous offense or evil; an outrage: Enormity is frequently misused to refer simply to the property of being great in size or extent, but there are many who prefer that "enormousness" or a synonym; such as, "immensity" be used for this general sense and that enormity be limited to situations that demand a "strong negative moral judgment".

This distinction between enormity and "enormousness" has not always existed historically, but nowadays many realize the differences.

Quality of exceeding wickedness; an outrageous act.
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Something that is abnormally serious; such as, a grave crime.
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This entry is located in the following unit: norm-, normo- (page 1)
Word Entries at Get Words: “enormity”
enormity (s) (i NOR mi tee) (noun), enormities (pl)
1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.
2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.

Enormity is frequently misused to refer simply to the property of being great in size or extent, but there are many who prefer that "enormousness" (or a synonym such as "immensity") be used for this general sense and that enormity be limited to situations that demand a "negative moral judgment".

This distinction between enormity and "enormousness" has not always existed historically, but nowadays many observe it.

This entry is located in the following unit: Misleading Meanings of English Words (page 1)