larger than life
"larger-than-life" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“larger than life” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case; of larger size than life-size.
Corpus desk
Index EN-larger-than-life · larger than life · English
larger than life · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | larger than life |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “larger than life” in English
Rare enough to double-check
larger than life is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for larger than life, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is larger than life, spelled L-A-R-G-E-R- -T-H-A-N- -L-I-F-E.
Definition
- 1Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case; of larger size than life-size.
- 2Very imposing, renowned, or impressively influential.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how larger than life appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Miss Snevellicci's papa looked very big indeed—several sizes larger than life.
At uniform intervals round the base of the pedestal, four naked figures in chains, somewhat larger than life, are seated in various attitudes of humiliation and despair.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.