larger than life
14
4.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
arrollador
- He was larger than life.
And he was, he was a larger than life, colourful character.
- And he was, he was a larger than life, colourful character.
- He was not a he was a larger than life figure.
- And that extremism made him this larger than life personality.
- It's still like a huge influence now, a larger than life character.
- And inevitably that larger than life person is not only too good to be true.
- Do you feel though also, you're so recognizable as this like larger than life character.
- Although small in stature and young in years, I wanted her to be larger than life.
- To many, among friend and foe, the Sea Wolf had become larger than life, more vengeful spirit than man.
- And here I'm borrowing someone else's words that storied these people into almost greater, larger than life characters.
- Maybe they're very dramatic and they have all these stories to tell and they seem almost slightly larger than life.
- People are not all the same, obviously, like a a big figure, you know, CEO with a larger than life personality will have an outsize effect, right.
- Tread very carefully when someone is larger than life, or intoxicating, or seductive or oso silver tongued.
- And I can imagine him lying on the ground sort of looking up to make them larger than life and him instructing them to be joyous and have fun and be playful.
Examples
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Some people are larger than life.
-
She was just larger than life.
-
So my dad is a bit of a larger than life character.
-
It's still like a huge influence now, a larger than life character.
-
When I first met you, you were larger than life.
-
Television made him appear larger than life.
Fiction book (1998) -
And he was, he was a larger than life, colourful character.
-
He has this larger than life energy around him.
-
So Mississippi Gene knows the America that Sal knows, and it's America populated by these larger than life figures.
-
The woman with smartly cut short hair had a presence that was larger than life.
Synonyms
13
4.8
A person or thing that seems bigger and more exciting than normal
3
4.4
Much larger than usual for its kind
1
4.1
Made to look bigger or more important than it really is
Antonyms
How Impressive
246
4.2
- Informal
14
4.6
56
3.8
584
3.4
181
3.5
683
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'very impressive/exaggerated' can be inferred from the literal constituents ("larger" + "than" + "life") as a metaphorical enlargement beyond ordinary life, so there is a clear compositional basis. However, the phrase is a figurative intensifier with evaluative and cultural nuances (charismatic, exaggerated) that may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure. Because the connection is partly transparent but relies on metaphorical extension, it is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Larger than life comes from the image of a painting, statue, or actor shown bigger than the real person, where being larger than life made someone look more powerful and unforgettable. That's why today it means 'very impressive' or 'having a personality bigger than normal'.