voluminous

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UK/vəˈl(j)uː.mɪ.nəs/US/vəˈlu.mə.nəs/

adjective

Of or pertaining to volume or volumes.

“a voluminous writer”

Meanings

adjectivevoluminous (comparative more voluminous, superlative most voluminous)

comparative more voluminous · superlative most voluminous

  1. Of or pertaining to volume or volumes.
  2. Consisting of many folds, coils, or convolutions.

    I remember that the Baroness was clad in a voluminous silk dress, pale grey in colour, and adorned with flounces and a crinoline and train.

    1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter VI, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/VI)
    1 more example

    Like the Cuscus of the Moluccas, the Galeopithecus feeds chiefly on leaves, and possesses a very voluminous stomach and long convoluted intestines. The brain is very small, and the animal possesses such remarkable tenacity of life, that it is exceedingly difficult to kill it by any ordinary means.

    1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 211
  3. Of great volume, or bulk; large.

    Matters of a much more extraordinary kind are to be the subject of this history, or I should grossly mis-spend my time in writing so voluminous a work […]

    1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
    1 more example

    Lukács's voluminous works are devoted for the most part to questions of aesthetics and literary criticism; but it would be wrong to say that he was a critic first and foremost and a philosopher only in a lesser degree.

    1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 254

    Synonyms: capacious

  4. Having written much, or produced many volumes.

    a voluminous writer

    Synonyms: copious, diffuse

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf great volume, or bulk; large.

Similar

adjectiveHaving written much, or produced many volumes.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivelarge in volume or bulk

Similar

adjectivemarked by repeated turns and bends

adjectivelarge in number or quantity (especially of discourse)

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Late Latinvoluminosus
  2. Englishvoluminous

From Late Latin voluminosus, from volumen, from volvō (“roll, turn about”) + -men (noun-forming suffix). Related to volume.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans volumineuze
  • volumineuzepertaining to volume
Arabic حَجْمِيّ, كَبِير الْحَجْم
  • حَجْمِيّ (ḥajmiyy)pertaining to volume
  • كَبِير الْحَجْم (kabīr al-ḥajm)of great volume
  • ضَخْم (ḍaḵm)of great volume
Bulgarian обе́мист, обемен
  • обе́мист (obémist)pertaining to volume
  • обемен (obemen)pertaining to volume
  • обемист (obemist)of great volume
  • плодови́т (plodovít)having written much
Czech objemný
  • objemnýof great volume
Dutch omvangrijk, volumineus
  • omvangrijkpertaining to volume
  • volumineusof great volume
Finnish runsas
  • runsaspertaining to volume
German voluminös
  • voluminösof great volume
Irish il-leabhrach
  • il-leabhrachhaving written much
Norwegian voluminøs, omfangsrik
  • voluminøspertaining to volume
  • omfangsrikof great volume
Portuguese volumoso
  • volumosopertaining to volume
Romanian voluminos
  • voluminospertaining to volume
Russian ёмкостный, объёмистый
  • ёмкостный (jómkostnyj)pertaining to volume
  • объёмистый (obʺjómistyj)of great volume
  • объёмный (obʺjómnyj)of great volume
  • масси́вный (massívnyj)of great volume
  • плодови́тый (plodovítyj)having written much
Spanish voluminoso, prolífico
  • voluminosopertaining to volume
  • prolíficohaving written much
Cite this entry
APA

voluminous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voluminous

MLA

“voluminous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voluminous. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “voluminous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voluminous.

Source: voluminous on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.