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“enormity”
1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.
2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.
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
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