greatness

noun

great·​ness ˈgrāt-nəs How to pronounce greatness (audio)
: 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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
True greatness will get most NFL players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025 Barry represents courage, compassion, and that quiet greatness that lies in helping others. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025 Wild Zones are time sinks, places where hours can be drained away, their greatness owed to a mechanic ripped straight from Arceus where catching Pokémon feels like landing consecutive headshots in Call of Duty. Ryan Gaur, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025 Reminiscent of Polanski’s Repulsion in its nightmarish depiction of an unraveling mind, Vicious, which was initially slated for a theatrical release but is instead streaming on Paramount+, doesn’t come close to approximating its greatness. Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for greatness

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of greatness was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Greatness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greatness. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on greatness

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!