legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈle-jən-ˌder-ē 

-ˌde-rē

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of legend or a legend

legendary creatures of the sea

2

: well-known, famous

a legendary football player

legendarily

ˌle-jən-ˈder-ə-lē 

-ˈde-rə-

adverb

Synonyms of legendary

• mythical
• famed
• fabled

Choose the Right Synonym for legendary

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented.

fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Examples of legendary in a Sentence

legendary creatures from the sea

He is the most legendary football player of his time.

Recent Examples on the Web

The James Beard Foundation was founded in 1986 and is named for the legendary cookbook author who has been called America’s first foodie. —Jeanne Bonner, CNN Money, 16 June 2026

Russia, meanwhile, blamed the CIA — and soon found support from the legendary American journalist Seymour Hersh, who published a detailed, single-source Substack post claiming that US Navy Divers placed C4 charges to be set off later by the Norwegian Navy. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 15 June 2026

Audiences have fallen in love with these characters and this legendary cast’s electric chemistry. —Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026

The couple traveled to the South of France in search of a holiday home and, in 1938, stayed at the legendary Hôtel Provençal in Juan-les-Pins as guests of its owner, Florence Gould, the socialite wife of American tycoon Frank Jay Gould. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for legendary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• apiary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• bacillary
• beriberi
• bestiary
• breviary
• budgetary

Kids Definition

legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈlej-ən-ˌder-ē 

1

: of or resembling a legend

2

: well-known, famous