elephantine

adjective

el·​e·​phan·​tine ˌe-lə-ˈfan-ˌtēn 

-ˌtīn,

ˈe-lə-fən-

1

a

: having enormous size or strength : massive

b

: clumsy, ponderous

elephantine verse

2

: of or relating to an elephant

Synonyms

• astronomical
• astronomic
• Brobdingnagian
• bumper
• colossal
• cosmic
• cosmical
• cyclopean
• enormous
• galactic
• gargantuan
• giant
• gigantesque
• gigantic
• grand
• herculean
• heroic
• heroical
• Himalayan
• huge
• humongous
• humungous
• immense
• jumbo
• king-size
• king-sized
• leviathan
• mammoth
• massive
• mega
• mighty
• monster
• monstrous
• monumental
• mountainous
• oceanic
• pharaonic
• planetary
• prodigious
• super
• super-duper
• supersize
• supersized
• titanic
• tremendous
• vast
• vasty
• walloping
• whacking
• whopping

Examples of elephantine in a Sentence

He has an elephantine ego.

the wedding reception was held under an elephantine tent on the great lawn

Recent Examples on the Web

The elephantine dance is constant: Each load is dumped, pushed, and dropped into a pit immense enough to hold 15,000 tons of waste (more than the city’s entire daily output). —Curbed, 12 Aug. 2022

Any attempt to resurrect the mammoth faces an elephantine gauntlet of challenges, including the DNA-shattering effects of frost and time, and the rather unhelpful reproductive tract of the eventual surrogate parent—the elephant. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2012

Those boxy fender extensions are open in the rear to channel dirty air coming off the wheels, while a carbon-composite front splitter and an elephantine carbon-fiber rear wing glue the Corolla to the road. —Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 1 Nov. 2022

To suggest that Jeep's seven- or eight-passenger Wagoneer L/Grand Wagoneer L twins are elephantine is to libel pachyderms. —John Phillips, Car and Driver, 11 Oct. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for elephantine

• acetylene
• adenosine
• amphetamine
• anthropocene
• antipyrine
• apomorphine
• apoprotein
• aquamarine
• arsphenamine
• azobenzene
• buprenorphine
• chlorobenzene

Kids Definition

elephantine

adjective

el·​e·​phan·​tine ˌel-ə-ˈfan-ˌtēn 

-ˌtīn,

ˈel-ə-fən-

1

a

: very big : huge, massive

b

: lacking grace

2

: of or relating to an elephant

Geographical Definition

Elephantine

geographical name

El·​e·​phan·​ti·​ne ˌe-lə-ˌfan-ˈtī-nē 

-fən-,

-ˈtē-

island in the Nile River opposite Aswân in southern Egypt population 1814