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Glite Dictionary
to loom large

to loom large

11 7.3
To seem very important or threatening and affect people's thoughts
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cobrar importancia
  • The fear of failure loomed large in her mind as she prepared for the exam.
  • loom large in their minds
  • loomed large in scholarly debate
  • loom large in the policy

So Worcester looms large in my memory and in my heart.

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Examples

  • As you can imagine, 2006 looms large in the community's mind.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Yet one uncertainty still looms large: China's commitment to such policies.

    Academic text (2011)

  • So progress and support for progress loom large on the best days.

  • Why do you think Dad looms large in stories?

  • And that is an area which I think is likely to loom large in coming months and as we go through the general election.

  • The shadow of the past continues to loom large over the two nations' views of defense and national security.

    Academic text (1996)

  • So Worcester looms large in my memory and in my heart.

    Team Coco

  • In his telling, life's biggest questions loom large even in the smallest details.

  • The Catholic Church looms large in the definition of self for many Ulster Protestants.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Yet it looms throughout, and I'm sure it'll loom large in our discussion today.

Synonyms

to loom
vsto loom large
152 5.1

To appear as a large unclear shape that seems threatening

is felt as especially important or threatening in a person's thoughts
to predominate
vsto loom large
1 7.0

To stand out and draw attention in a place

affects someone's emotions or thoughts rather than only visual dominance

Antonyms

to diminish
201 3.7

To become less in size, importance, or value

to fade away
69 3.0

To become weaker and then disappear over time

How Important

to dominate
275 3.7
to overshadow
48 5.9
to loom large
11 7.3

Surface Forms

loom large infinitive
loomed large past
loomed large past participle
looming large present participle
looms large third person singular

Morphology

loom + large

Because 'loom' already carries the sense of appearing in a menacing or indistinct way and 'large' conveys size or prominence, a learner who knows both words can infer that something appears prominent or threatening. The shift to abstract senses (e.g. having great influence in someone's thoughts) is metaphorical and not fully predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partly compositional.

Etymology

The phrase loom large comes from the image of a dark shape slowly appearing out of fog and growing very big. One popular picture is a ship or mountain that seems to get closer and more threatening, so the verb loom plus large now means 'to seem very important or threatening'.