greatness

noun

great·​ness ˈgrāt-nəs 

: the quality or state of being great (as in size, skill, achievement, or power)

Today, many Inca buildings still stand—all witnesses to an empire of unforgettable greatness.

—Michelle Laliberte

An understanding of the visible world became a better way of understanding the greatness of God.

—Mario Salvadori

I came back convinced that bourbon and its cousins are America's contribution to world distillery, with as strong a claim to greatness as anything from Scotland, Ireland, or Canada.

—Corby Kummer

… young team that came within a game of reaching the World Series, a team on the verge of greatness.

—Barry Rozner

Tyson, 33, has long since abandoned any claim to boxing greatness, having squandered his promise in two jail sentences, a suspension and several gory defeats.

—Richard Hoffer

Synonyms

• choiceness
• distinction
• excellence
• excellency
• first-rateness
• perfection
• preeminence
• primeness
• superbness
• superiority
• supremacy

Examples of greatness in a Sentence

a poet whose work is of enduring greatness

the overwhelming greatness of the canyon is what visitors first notice

Recent Examples on the Web

So many athletes and their grace, the culmination of years of hard work, sacrifices that have been made by moms and dads for, in some cases, 20 years to be there to have a front-row seat to all that greatness. —Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024

With this album, Mach wants to focus on Haiti’s greatness and fight the public’s negative connotation associated with his homeland. —Angel Diaz, Billboard, 6 May 2024

Who raised her, after all, has been the source for so much in her life: of her introduction to and love of basketball, of moments of grief, of stretches of greatness. —Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 4 May 2024

Someone who can appreciate the grunts as well as the officers, despite an incredibly large ego, which is necessary for true greatness.. —Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 May 2024

As the global games approach this summer, there are other similarities – and opportunities to mold and meld greatness across eras. —Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 May 2024

The winningest head coach in the history of Missouri Tigers basketball — already a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame — on Wednesday joined the Show Me State’s own shrine to greatness. —Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 2 May 2024

That came in the 2006 NBA Finals, when the Heat came back from a 2-0 series deficit against the Dallas Mavericks by winning four straight games to claim its first NBA championship behind the greatness of Dwyane Wade. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2024

So thank you to Hernandez for bringing back memories of pitching greatness. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing greatness

• the stuff of greatness