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

The oversized teddy bear of a man with the languid baritone, who speaks with the eloquence of a poet, the encouragement of a coach, and the comfort of a minister, came up in the legendary Night Hawk in the 1970s. —Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman, 19 Mar. 2026

The answer presented itself in Rajasthan’s legendary craft traditions—block-printing workshops, miniature painting studios, and family-run ateliers where centuries-old techniques are still practiced by hand. —Christine Chitnis, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Mar. 2026

However, former Duke player Jay Bilas said his legendary former head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, had a brilliant way of dumbing it down to take the pressure off the Blue Devils. —Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026

And while the series typically involves a meal, given Puth’s legendary music nerd-dom, the singer instead took to the piano at the club and showed interviewer Tomás Mier how the songs came together and what his intentions were on the most personal collection he’s released to date. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 Mar. 2026

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