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

In Egypt, an underwater excavation in Alexandria uncovered a bronze ring depicting the legendary Lighthouse of Alexandria, while prehistoric rock art in Sinai reveals thousands of years of human activity. — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026

Fox Nation is pulling a new trick, using artificial intelligence to bring legendary illusionist Harry Houdini back from the dead. — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026

Well, the story behind the legendary hip-hop crew’s seventh studio album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, is finally being told in a new Netflix documentary. — Christine Imarenezor, VIBE.com, 13 Oct. 2026

The new Baywatch finds wild-child legacy character Hobie Buchannon (Stephen Amell) serving as a Baywatch Captain, following in his legendary father Mitch’s footsteps. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 13 Oct. 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