gigantism

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“
Recently, the association of acromegaly with gigantism has been noticed, and in these instances there seems to be an acquired uniform enlargement of all the bones of the body.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun The quality or state of being gigantic; abnormally large size.
  2. noun Excessive growth of the body or any of its parts, especially as a result of oversecretion of the growth hormone by the pituitary gland. Also called giantism.

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Examples (27)

  • It's basic island biogeology — animals on islands will naturally tend toward either gigantism or pygmyism. —  Smoke and Mirrors, by Neil Gaiman.
  • And when Susan acclimates to her gigantism, running amok around San Francisco trying to dodge Gallaxhar's robot, there's an inventive chase sequence in which she fastens two cars to her feet and uses them as roller skates. —  Box Office Prophets
  • If Henry Irving represents somewhat literal-minded Victorian gigantism (why represent a bluebell wood on stage if you can afford to instal the real thing?), Craig epitomised new-wave megalomania. —  New Statesman
  • A syndrome of multiorgan hyperplasia with features of gigantism, tumorigenesis, and female sterility in p27 (Kip1) - deficient mice. —  CiteULike: Everyone's library
  • Dr Kuntner explained that the widely accepted theory was that evolutionary pressure was causing female "gigantism", with the females increasing in size in order to produce larger numbers of offspring. —  BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition
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/dʒaɪˈgæntɪzm/
by American Heritage

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