larger than life

larger than life

Meaning

• something or someone that is very impressive
• something that is imposing
• very striking or colourful
• exaggerated

Example Sentences

1. His father is a great man. He is larger than life.
2. Throughout his career the actor has always seemed larger than life.
3. The painting seems larger than life.
4. The character that she plays is larger than life. Not at all how she really acts.
5. The children were very impressed when they met their favourite cricket player. He had always seemed larger than life to them.
6. We went to the Vatican when we were in Italy. It seems larger than life inside.

Origin

It is used to describe someone or something that is so impressive that they have taken on a mythical persona. It is almost as if they are not like the rest of us.

The phrase was first used to describe Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. It was published in an article in the New Yorker in the mid-20^th century. Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister during the second world war. He was a very imposing man and seen my many as one of the greatest figures of the 20^th century.