Did you know?
Can amazing mean "good"?
Yes, it can.
One common complaint regarding the adjectival use of amazing is the extent to which the word is used in what some feel is a watered-down fashion. Those who take this position argue that unless someone is literally being amazed, the word is ill-chosen.
While this defense of semantic integrity is understandable, we must point out that the broadened meaning of amazing is hardly an isolated case. In fact, a number of words that are semantically similar to amazing have also come unmoored from their original meanings. Fabulous once meant “characteristic of fables," and the earliest known sense of terrific was “exciting fear or awe.” Although the weakened meanings of such words have elicited complaints, most of them have eventually become accepted into the language over the course of time.
Examples of amazing in a Sentence
Devon Ivie, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2026
The flip side • Kudos to Courtney and Ewan for doing an amazing job of leading two buses of very excited first-graders through the Orlando Wetlands on a field trip!
—Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2026
But occasionally some little movie will sneak out of nowhere and be amazing.
—Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
But what [Jordan] did was amazing, OK?
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for amazing
Cite this Entry
“Amazing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amazing. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
Copy Citation
