leviathan
Syllables: lev·i·a·than/lɪˈvaɪəθn̩//ləˈvaɪəθ(ə)n/
leviathan noun: a vast sea monster of tremendous strength, either imaginary or real, described as the most dangerous and powerful creature in the ocean.
Noun (1)
leviathan (plural leviathans)
- A vast sea monster of tremendous strength, either imaginary or real, described as the most dangerous and powerful creature in the ocean.
- So is this greate and wyde ſee [sea] alſo, wherin are thinges crepinge innumerable, both ſmall and greate beaſtes. There go the ſhippes ouer, and there is that Leuiathan, whom thou haſt made, to take his paſtyme therin.1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Psalm ciij:[25–26]...
- Euen ſo do I thinke them no trewe Chryſtian men that do not reioyce with the Angels of heauen for the deliuerie of theſe owre brootherne, owre fleſſhe, and owre bones, from the handes of owre commune enemie the oulde ſerpente who hath ſo longe had them in hys poſſeſſion, vntyll the fulneſſe of the...1555, Richard Eden, “Rycharde Eden to the Reader”, in Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera], translated by Rycharde Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India, […], London...
- A thing which is monstrously great in size, strength, etc. (especially a ship); also, a person with great power or wealth.
- Of this laſt requeſt, the Lacquy of this great Leuiathan, promiſde he ſhould be maiſter, but he vvould not bring him to a miles end by land, (they vvere too many to meddle vvith).1606, Tho[mas] Dekker, “The Deuill Let Loose, with His Answere to Pierce Pennylesse”, in Newes from Hell; […], London: […] R. B[lower, S. Stafford, and Valentine Simmes] for W. Ferebrand, […], →OCLC...
- So can the Lord deal, and often doth, vvith the great Behemoths and Leviathans of the vvorld: […]1656, Robert Sanderson, “[Ad Populum.] The First Sermon.”, in Twenty Sermons Formerly Preached. […], London: […] R. Norton, for Henry Seile […], →OCLC, paragraph 36, page 412
- Sometimes in the form Leviathan: based on the writings of Thomas Hobbes, the political state, especially a domineering and totalitarian one.
- Holonym: the System
- [T]he Multitude ſo united in one Perſon, is called a Common-vvealth, in latine Civitas. This is the generation of that great Leviathan, or rather (to ſpeake more reverently) of that Mortall God, to vvhich vvee ovve under the Immortall God, our peace and defence.1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of the Causes, Generation, and Definition of a Common-wealth”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William...
- Synonym of Satan (“the supreme evil spirit in the Abrahamic religions, who tempts humanity into sin; the Devil”).
- [S]eu'n times thrice more glorious the name, / By vvhich thrice povverfull vvee coniure the ſame: / VVhich but repeated doth that Dragon feare, / That olde Leuyathan vvhoſe iavves Lord teare. / […] / Then glorious Captaine, our chiefe God and man, / Breake thou the Iavves of old Leuiathan.1595, Bar[nabe] Barnes, “Invocation to the Diuine Father of Sacred Muses. Sonnet XLVIII.”, in A Divine Centurie of Spirituall Sonnets, London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, signature [D4], recto
- Synonyms:
- Satan
Adjective
leviathan (not comparable)
- Very large; enormous, gargantuan.
- Her virtuous, pale-blue, saucerlike eyes flooded with leviathan tears on unexpected occasions and made Yossarian mad.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 171
- Synonyms:
- giant, ginormous, ample, big, exceeding, cosmic, bodacious, broad, commodious, considerable
Noun (2) capitalized: Leviathan
Leviathan (plural Leviathans)
- Alternative letter-case form of leviathan.
- So is this greate and wyde ſee [sea] alſo, wherin are thinges crepinge innumerable, both ſmall and greate beaſtes. There go the ſhippes ouer, and there is that Leuiathan, whom thou haſt made, to take his paſtyme therin.1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Psalm ciij:[25–26]...
- Euen ſo do I thinke them no trewe Chryſtian men that do not reioyce with the Angels of heauen for the deliuerie of theſe owre brootherne, owre fleſſhe, and owre bones, from the handes of owre commune enemie the oulde ſerpente who hath ſo longe had them in hys poſſeſſion, vntyll the fulneſſe of the...1555, Richard Eden, “Rycharde Eden to the Reader”, in Peter Martyr of Angleria [i.e., Peter Martyr d’Anghiera], translated by Rycharde Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India, […], London...
leviathan meaning in Tamil, Arabic, Malay and Indonesian
leviathan in Tamil
- vast sea monster of tremendous strength
- லெவியாதன் leviyātaṉ
leviathan in Arabic
- vast sea monster of tremendous strength
- لَوِيَاثَان lawiyāṯān
leviathan in Malay
- vast sea monster of tremendous strength
- lewiatan
- very large (cognates) — see also enormous
- raksasa
leviathan in Indonesian
- vast sea monster of tremendous strength
- lewiatan
- very large (cognates) — see also enormous
- lewiatan, raksasa
More languagesFewer languages
- leviathan in Persian
- لویاتان laveyâtân, لوتان lavetân
- leviathan in Thai
- เลวีอาธาน
Examples of leviathan in a sentence
- [T]hat Sea beaſt / Leviathan, vvhich God of all his vvorks / Created hugeſt that ſvvim th' Ocean ſtream: […]1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert...
- High mid'ſt the Clouds the boyling Ocean roars / And looks far dovvn on his decreaſing Shoars / Leviathans in plaintive Thunder cry, / In diſtant, diſmal Pants, the long-liv'd Echos dye.1713, Edward Young, “Book III”, in A Poem on the Last Day, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Edward Whistler, →OCLC, page 69:
- The Sea-dog and the Dolphin are her food; / She makes the huge Leviathan her prey, / And all the monſters of the vvat'ry vvay; […]1725, Homer, “Book XII”, in [William Broome], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 149...
- The fog seemed to break away as though split by a wedge, and the bow of a steamboat emerged, trailing fog-wreaths on either side like seaweed on the snout of Leviathan.1904, Jack London, chapter 1, in The Sea-Wolf (Macmillan’s Standard Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 5:
Synonyms of leviathan
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of leviathan
| plural | leviathans |
|---|---|
| alternative form | Leviathan |
| plural | Leviathans |
Origin of leviathan
The noun is derived from Middle English leviathan, levyathan, levyethan, from Late Latin leviathan, a transliteration of Biblical Hebrew לִוְיָתָן (liwyāṯān), possibly from לִוְיָה (liwyâ, “garland, wreath”) + ־תָּן (-tān, suffix forming agent nouns), literally “the tortuous one”. Noun sense 2.2 (“political state”) was coined by English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) in his work Leviathan (1651): see the quotation. Noun sense 2.3 (“synonym of Satan”) refers to Isaiah 27:1 in the Bible (King James Version, spelling modernized): “In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun.
Words formed from leviathan
Questions about leviathan
- What does leviathan mean?
- Leviathan means a vast sea monster of tremendous strength, either imaginary or real, described as the most dangerous and powerful creature in the ocean.
- What is leviathan in Tamil?
- Leviathan in Tamil is லெவியாதன் (leviyātaṉ). See Leviathan meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use leviathan in a sentence?
- [T]hat Sea beaſt / Leviathan, vvhich God of all his vvorks / Created hugeſt that ſvvim th' Ocean ſtream: […]
- What part of speech is leviathan?
- Leviathan can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce leviathan?
- Leviathan is pronounced /lɪˈvaɪəθn̩/ (UK).
- What is the plural of leviathan?
- The plural of leviathan is leviathans.
Words near leviathan in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: leviathan (page history and authors); Leviathan (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-leviathan.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-leviathan.wav.
Cite this entry: “leviathan.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/leviathan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.