cavernous

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkæv.ɚ.nəs/ UK /ˈkav.ən.əs/ See IPA manual

Freq #54335

Meanings

1

adj
being or suggesting a cavern

Vast cavernous chambers hollowed out of limestone.
2

adj
Resembling a cavern in size, shape, or atmosphere.

The last stop on the West Coast Main Line before you cross the border into Scotland, the strategically placed Carlisle Citadel is a station steeped in history. Opened on September 1 1847, the cavernous station was once home to seven railway companies in the pre-Grouping years.
3

adj
filled with vascular sinuses and capable of becoming distended and rigid as the result of being filled with blood
4

adj
Having many caverns.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · resembling a cavern in... cavelike

3 adj · filled with vascular... erectile

Word family

Derived forms bronchocavernouscavernomacavernouslyextracavernousintercavernousintracavernousnoncavernousparacavernouspericavernous

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cavernous sinus
one of two large spaces inside the skull through which venous blood flows

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Late Middle English cavernous, cavernose, borrowing from Old French caverneux or Latin cavernōsus (“full of hollows or cavities”), from caverna (“a hollow, cavity, cave”) + -ōsus (“-ous, -ose”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to cavern + -ous.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# cavernous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkæv.ɚ.nəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkav.ən.əs/
**Frequency rank:** 54335

## Meanings
1. being or suggesting a cavern
2. Resembling a cavern in size, shape, or atmosphere.
3. filled with vascular sinuses and capable of becoming distended and rigid as the result of being filled with blood
4. Having many caverns.

## Examples
- Vast cavernous chambers hollowed out of limestone.
- The last stop on the West Coast Main Line before you cross the border into Scotland, the strategically placed Carlisle Citadel is a station steeped in history. Opened on September 1 1847, the cavernous station was once home to seven railway companies in the pre-Grouping years.

## Derived Forms
- bronchocavernous
- cavernoma
- cavernously
- extracavernous
- intercavernous
- intracavernous
- noncavernous
- paracavernous
- pericavernous

## Etymology
Late Middle English cavernous, cavernose, borrowing from Old French caverneux or Latin cavernōsus (“full of hollows or cavities”), from caverna (“a hollow, cavity, cave”) + -ōsus (“-ous, -ose”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to cavern + -ous.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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