the vast sprawling

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "the vast sprawling" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to something that is large, widely spread, and complex. For example: "The vast sprawling city of New York is a bustling metropolis filled with energy and culture."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Travel

Opinion

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

11 human-written examples

For that, she said, the vast, sprawling San José metropolitan area needs to be fundamentally redrawn.

The New York Times

Basically, the technosphere is the vast, sprawling combination of humanity and its technology.

The Guardian

He was appropriately jocular and inoffensively rambunctious, but he was simply swallowed up by the vast, sprawling, expanse of studio that he had been plonked in.

Independent

Recruits for the drug war come from the vast, sprawling maquiladora – bonded assembly plants where, for rock-bottom wages, workers make the goods that fill America's supermarket shelves or become America's automobiles, imported duty-free.

The Guardian - Opinion

I thank my lucky stars for this seaside retreat – the lucky stars that line up in the vast, sprawling marine sky and stand guard above my tiny weatherbeaten hut.

The Guardian - Travel

A nationwide teachers' revolt that last year saw walkouts in West Virginia, Oklahoma and other largely Republican-run states has now spread to California, where teachers and support staff in the vast, sprawling, predominantly low-income Los Angeles Unified School District are on the verge of striking.

The Guardian

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

The settlement creeps up the mountains to the north of this vast, sprawling city, twisting and turning into the hills - brick shack after brick shack, stacked high into the heavens, defying gravity.

BBC

So the question which Karl invites, and is in turn defeated by, is whether we need this vast, sprawling 198th effort about a man who loathed the kind of strident intrusions which are Karl's dirty currency.

The Guardian - Books

More than 4 million people – around a quarter of the total living in the vast sprawl of Delhi and its satellites – live in similar conditions in areas officially defined as slums.

The Guardian

Would it be the vast sprawl of the rickety buildings and broken pavement of the side streets of one of the world's most extraordinary and unique cities? Or the extreme poverty of the favelas, some of which used to be contiguous to the race track?

The New York Times - Sports

As it stands now, service members face a gantlet of overlapping fitness tests throughout the vast sprawl of the American military, from initial ones that recruits have to pass to annual fitness (and weight) tests to specific physical requirements that must be met for combat jobs.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "the vast sprawling", consider the context to ensure that both adjectives accurately describe the noun. It works best when emphasizing both the size and the spread-out nature of something.

Common error

While "the vast sprawling" is generally acceptable, be mindful of using it excessively in formal writing. In some cases, more precise or sophisticated vocabulary might be more appropriate.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "the vast sprawling" functions as a descriptive adjective phrase. It modifies a noun, emphasizing both the immense size (vast) and the spread-out nature (sprawling) of the entity being described. Ludwig provides examples where it's used to describe cities, complexes and other physical features.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

70%

Travel

10%

Opinion

5%

Less common in

Academia

3%

Science

3%

Formal & Business

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

"The vast sprawling" is a descriptive adjective phrase used to emphasize both the immense size and the widespread nature of something. As Ludwig AI confirms, it is grammatically correct and usable in written English. The phrase appears most frequently in news and media contexts, and is also found in travel writing and opinion pieces. While generally acceptable, writers should be mindful of overuse in formal contexts where more precise language might be preferred. Synonyms like "extensive sprawling" or "immense sprawling" can offer subtle variations in meaning. Overall, "the vast sprawling" is a useful phrase for vividly depicting scale and distribution in descriptive writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

the extensive sprawling

Replaces 'vast' with 'extensive', indicating a wide range or scope.

the immense sprawling

Uses 'immense' instead of 'vast', emphasizing the great size.

the expansive sprawling

Uses 'expansive' to highlight the broad and open nature of something.

the huge sprawling

Substitutes 'vast' with 'huge', a more informal synonym.

the sprawling expanse

Reverses the order and uses 'expanse' to describe the area.

the sprawling immensity

Replaces 'vast' with 'immensity', focusing on the enormous scale of something.

the wide sprawling

Replaces 'vast' with 'wide', focusing on the breadth of the area.

the broad sprawling

Replaces 'vast' with 'broad', emphasizing the wide scope or extent.

the considerable sprawling

Uses 'considerable' instead of 'vast', suggesting a significant amount or size.

the substantial sprawling

Substitutes 'vast' with 'substantial', indicating a noteworthy amount or size.

FAQs

How can I use "the vast sprawling" in a sentence?

You can use "the vast sprawling" to describe a large area or entity that spreads out considerably. For example, "The vast sprawling city seemed endless as we drove through it."

What are some synonyms for "the vast sprawling"?

Some synonyms include "the "extensive sprawling"", "the "immense sprawling"", or "the "expansive sprawling"" depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is "the vast sprawling" too informal for academic writing?

While generally acceptable, "the vast sprawling" might be considered somewhat informal for certain academic contexts. Consider using more precise language, depending on your field of study.

What is the difference between "the vast sprawling" and "the large sprawling"?

"Vast" implies an exceptionally large size or extent, while "large" is a more general term. Therefore, "the vast sprawling" suggests something significantly larger than "the large sprawling".