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Tall vs Towering - What's the difference?

tall | towering |

As adjectives the difference between tall and towering

is that tall is having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall while towering is very tall or high, particularly used to denote something that is taller than anything around it.

As a verb towering is

present participle of lang=en.

As a noun towering is

the act or condition of being high above others.

tall

English

Adjective

(er)
  • (of a person) Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of over 6 feet would generally be considered to be tall.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
  • Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal) extent; high.
  • (of a story) Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
  • (chiefly, US, of a cup of coffee) A cup of coffee smaller than grande, usually 8 ounces.
  • (obsolete) Obsequious; obedient.
  • (obsolete) Seemly; suitable; fitting, becoming, comely; attractive, handsome.
  • (obsolete) Bold; brave; courageous; valiant.
  • (archaic) Fine; proper; admirable; great; excellent.

    • Antonyms

    * (of a person) short * (of a building) short, low, low-rise

    Derived terms

    * stand tall * tall in the saddle * tall order * tall story * tall tale

    towering

    English

    Verb

    (head)

    • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Very tall or high, particularly used to denote something that is taller than anything around it.
  • *
  • *:So this was my future home, I thought!Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2010, date=December 28, author=Marc Vesty, work=BBC
    • , title= Stoke 0-2 Fulham , passage=And it was not until Ryan Shawcross's towering header was cleared off the line by Danny Murphy on the stroke of half-time that Stoke started to crank up the pressure and suggest they were capable of getting back into the match.}}

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act or condition of being high above others.
  • * 1829 , John Timbs, Laconics: Or, The Best Words of the Best Authors
    • Gaiety seldom fails to give some pain; the hearers either strain their faculties to accompany its towerings , or are left behind in envy or despair.
  • * (Robert Burns)
    • But I am an old hawk at the sport; and wrote her such a cool, deliberate, prudent reply, as brought my bird from the aerial towerings pop down at my foot like Corporal Trim's hat.

    See also

    * tower over * towering inferno