Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
gigantism

gigantism

1 7.0
A condition where someone grows much taller and bigger than normal because of too much growth hormone
  • noun
  • /dʒaɪˈɡæntɪzəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gigantismo
  • SEE, THE GORILLAS IN THE PANGANI CARRY THIS RECESSIVE GENE... THAT POPS UP EVERY FOUR OR FIVE GENERATIONS WITH THIS RARE FORM OF GIGANTISM.

Examples

  • Cadena thinks habitat and ecological interactions drove the gigantism.

    Blog text (28)

  • This formidable animal, as big as my palm, is another example of gigantism in the Southern Ocean.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Yes, uh, resulting in extreme gigantism.

    Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012)

  • Because of the unusually large size of a few of the Homo erectus specimens from Java, Weidenreich came up with the notion that there had been a period of gigantism in human evolution, and that modern humans were the diminutive descendants of these giants.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

giantism
vsgigantism
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A condition that makes a living thing grow much taller than normal because of too much growth hormone

applies specifically to humans rather than to all living organisms

Antonyms

dwarfism
  • Specialized
3 5.6

A medical condition that makes a person much shorter than average

Surface Forms

gigantism singular
gigantisms plural

Morphology

gigantism = giant (semi-transparent) = gigant + ism

The suffix '-ism' indicates a condition or doctrine, but the specific medical condition is not immediately obvious from 'giant'.

Etymology

Gigantism comes from the Greek word gigas meaning 'giant' and the ending -ism meaning 'condition'. So gigantism is the condition of being unusually large, for example when a person grows too fast because of too much growth hormone.