colossus
/kəˈlɒsəs/ (bre, ipa) · /kəˈlɑːsəs/ (ame, ipa) · /kə-ˈlä-səs/ (ame, mw)
colossus — noun
- colossussingular
- colossiplural
1. a person, organization, or thing that has become extremely powerful, influential
a person, organization, or thing that has become extremely powerful, influential, or successful, often dominating an entire area of activity
The oil company grew into a colossus that controlled nearly half the country's energy supply.
collocation: grow into a colossus
The poet regarded her grandfather as a gentle colossus in the world of Chinese poetry.
pattern: a colossus in [domain]
That technology colossus now employs over two hundred thousand people across six continents.
The film director became a cultural colossus whose work influenced an entire generation.
Local shops struggled to compete with the retail colossus that opened a store in every town.
- giant
more everyday word; colossus suggests even greater scale and dominance
- titan
similar register; titan often implies heroic or mythological stature
- behemoth
suggests something clumsy or threatening; more negative than colossus
- leviathan
suggests a vast, impersonal entity (often a government or corporation); more literary
文法句型
a colossus of [domain]
用法筆記
Usually singular. Often followed by 'of' plus a field or domain (e.g., a colossus of industry, a colossus of the art world). The concrete 'statue' sense (sense 2) is the historical root, but the metaphorical sense is now equally common in journalism.
常見錯誤
2. a statue, sculpture, or building that is strikingly large, often so big that it
a statue, sculpture, or building that is strikingly large, often so big that it dominates the area around it
The ancient colossus stood at the harbour entrance, its stone arm raised toward the sea.
historical reference: Colossus of Rhodes
Tariq took a photograph of the marble colossus that dominates the central square.
The museum's new wing is a steel-and-glass colossus that towers over the old building.
Workers spent ten years carving the sandstone colossus next to the river.
From a distance the colossus looked like a small hill, but up close you could see it was carved by human hands.
- giant statue
more literal and descriptive; less dramatic
- monolith
suggests a single block of stone; more specific in meaning
- mammoth structure
emphasises the prehistoric scale rather than artistic quality
文法句型
[material] colossus
用法筆記
The word originally referred only to statues (capitalised: the Colossus of Rhodes), but now also describes any building or structure that is strikingly large. Distinguish from sense 1, which is metaphorical (a person or organisation).