writ large

English

WOTD – 19 February 2022

Etymology

From writ (“(archaic) written”) + large, from the poem “On the New Forces of Conscience under the Long Parliament” in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions (1673) by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674): “New Presbyter is but Old Priest writ large”; Milton was using the phrase in the sense “written more completely”.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɪt ˈlɑːd͡ʒ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹɪt ˈlɑɹd͡ʒ/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dʒ

Adjective

writ large (comparative writ larger, superlative writ largest) (figuratively)

1. On a large scale; magnified.

   Antonym: writ small

   • 1866, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter VIII, in Felix Holt, the Radical […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, pages 202–203:

     Since then his character had been ripened by a various experience, and also by much knowledge which he had set himself deliberately to gain. But the man was no more than the boy writ large, with an extensive commentary.

   • 1908, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Hardingham Hotel, and How We Became Big People”, in Tono-Bungay […], Toronto, Ont.: The Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd., →OCLC, 3rd book (The Great Days of Tono-Bungay), section III, page 258:

     Yet it seems to me indeed at times that all this present commercial civilisation is no more than my poor uncle's career writ large, a swelling, thinning bubble of assurances; that its arithmetic is just as unsound, its dividends as ill-advised, its ultimate aim as vague and forgotten; […]

   • 1995 January 23, Stephen R[ichards] Covey, quotee, “One Man’s Ted Sorensen is Another’s Marianne Williamson”, in Time‎^[1], volume 145, number 3, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 February 2022:

     Public behavior is merely private character writ large.

   • 2009, Thomas Pepinsky, Economic Crises and the Breakdown of Authoritarian Regimes, New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 40:

     In the case of Malaysia, for instance, the regime depends not on "labour" writ large but specifically on the unorganised Malay masses.

   • 2023 April 20, Casey Schwartz, “Jean Twenge is ready to make you defend your generation again”, in The Washington Post‎^[2]:

     Despite the disbelievers, technology writ large — from air conditioning to television to smartphones — is core to Twenge’s sense of what defines a generation, even down to when each one begins and ends.

2. Readily discerned, unmistakably indicated; clear, obvious.
   • 1903 October, Jack London, “The Descent”, in The People of the Abyss, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 2:

     "You don't want to live down there!" everybody said, with disapprobation writ large upon their faces. "Why, it is said there are places where a man's life isn't worth tu'pence."

   • 1904–1906, Joseph Conrad, “The Faithful River”, in The Mirror of the Sea, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers, published October 1906, →OCLC, page 181:

     Meantime the old salt ("ex-coasting skipper" was writ large all over his person) had hobbled up alongside in his bumpy, shiny boots.

   • 2002 October 3, Andrea Sachs, “Galley Girl: The Working Mother Edition”, in Time‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 August 2013:

     Bestsellerdom is writ large for this novel, sure to be greeted with rave reviews.

Usage notes

The term is usually placed after the noun modified. For uses of “writ large” in a verb sense, see write.

Translations

on a large scale — see magnified

readily discerned, unmistakably indicated — see clear,‎ obvious