greatness

noun

great·​ness ˈgrāt-nəs 

: 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

Synonyms of greatness

• excellence
• excellency

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

Casual fans might know of Mike Evans consistent greatness for more than a decade in Tampa, but few fans realize Lavonte David has been a starter in Tampa Bay since the first Obama Administration? — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Visually, however, everything was pretty much equally spellbinding — which is the true greatness of this tour. — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026

For a guy like Dernell Stenson, that first Major League home run was like seeing the greatness to come. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026

Between 2009 and 2018, their rivalry transformed El Clasico into a global TV event and turned La Liga into a weekly referendum on individual greatness. — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing greatness

• the stuff of greatness

Rhymes for greatness

• lateness
• straightness