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

Shakur was a legendary revolutionary with the Black Liberation Army who in May 1977 was convicted of killing a New Jersey state trooper in a shoot-out that left her wounded and another comrade dead. —Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025

American record producer and entrepreneur Hayes III is the son of legendary musician and actor Isaac Hayes. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Nov. 2025

In less than a decade, Kier would land a role in one of his signature films, the 1973 shocker Flesh for Frankenstein from legendary underground filmmaker Paul Morrissey and costarring Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Nov. 2025

This holds especially true when most attendees have come to celebrate his legendary past with Led Zeppelin, which disbanded after the 1980 death of its mighty drummer, John Bonham. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for legendary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

legendary

adjective

leg·​end·​ary ˈlej-ən-ˌder-ē 

1

: of or resembling a legend

2

: well-known, famous