English · Idiom Attested

larger than life

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case; of larger size than life-size.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Lớn hơn kích cỡ tự nhiên hoặc bình thường

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Miss Snevellicci's papa looked very big indeed—several sizes larger than life.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org). Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Very imposing, renowned, or impressively influential.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Rất ấn tượng, nổi tiếng, có ảnh hưởng lớn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “larger than life” mean?

Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case; of larger size than life-size.

Is “larger than life” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.