larger than life

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Adjective[edit]

larger than life (comparative form only)

  1. Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case; of larger size than life-size.
  2. (figuratively, usually of a person) Very imposing, renowned, or impressively influential.
    • 1984, Jim Steinman, Dean Pitchford (lyrics and music), “Holding Out for a Hero”, performed by Bonnie Tyler:
      I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light / He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon / And he's gotta be larger than life
    • 1988 January 3, Joyce Carol Oates, “Intellectual Seduction”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      This is a person of surpassing integrity; a man of the utmost sincerity; somewhat larger than life, perhaps.
    • 1996, Ani DiFranco (lyrics and music), “Napoleon”, in Dilate:
      And the next time / That I saw you / You were larger than life / You came and you conquered / You were doing alright
    • 2007 December 31, Orville Schell, “Person of the Year Runners-up: Hu Jintao”, in Time[2], archived from the original on 2012-09-11:
      Nor has he cultivated the kind of flamboyant style with which his country became well acquainted in larger-than-life leaders from Chiang Kai-shek to Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
    • 2023 November 21, David Streitfeld, “The Long Shadow of Steve Jobs Looms Over the Turmoil at OpenAI”, in The New York Times[3]:
      Steve Jobs, driven by his genius and his gut, invented the iPhone and built Apple into the world’s most valuable company. He was uncompromising, larger than life and irreplaceable.

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