tremendous

adjective

tre·​men·​dous tri-ˈmen-dəs 

1

a

: notable by reason of extreme size, power, greatness, or excellence

tremendous problems

a writer of tremendous talent

—often used as a generalized term of approval

had a tremendous time

b

: unusually large : huge

a tremendous number of people

2

: being such as may excite trembling or arouse dread, awe, or terror

tremendousness noun

Synonyms

• huge
• enormous
• vast
• gigantic
• massive
• immense
• giant
• colossal
• astronomical
• monumental
• mammoth

Choose the Right Synonym for tremendous

monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous mean extremely impressive.

monstrous implies a departure from the normal (as in size, form, or character) and often carries suggestions of deformity, ugliness, or fabulousness.

the monstrous waste of the project

prodigious suggests a marvelousness exceeding belief, usually in something felt as going far beyond a previous maximum (as of goodness, greatness, intensity, or size).

made a prodigious effort and rolled the stone aside

tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe.

the tremendous roar of the cataract

stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description.

a stupendous volcanic eruption

Examples of tremendous in a Sentence

He has a tremendous amount of energy.

The engine's power is tremendous.

She is a writer of tremendous talent.

We had a tremendous time.

Recent Examples on the Web

Aaron Judge got the walk-off RBI with a sacrifice fly that scored Anthony Volpe on a tremendous slide in a bang-bang play at the plate, but the speedster was able to avoid any tag, despite the throw beating him. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 11 July 2025

The left-handed hitter has a smooth clean swing with tremendous bat-to-ball skills that includes great vision. —Jim Bowden, New York Times, 11 July 2025

This accessible game seems simple but has tremendous replayability and strategic depth. —Simon Hill, Wired News, 11 July 2025

After such tremendous success with its first version of the game in the NIL era, EA Sports will reportedly compensate schools based on online player usage and the payments for players more than doubled to $1,500 in addition to a free copy of the game for their inclusion. —Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin tremendus, from gerundive of tremere

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for tremendous

• horrendous
• stupendous
• rendus

Kids Definition

tremendous

adjective

tre·​men·​dous tri-ˈmen-dəs 

1

: causing dread, awe, or terror : dreadful

2

: astonishing because of great size, excellence, or power

tremendous problems

a writer of tremendous talent

tremendously adverb