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

Vantage Media has acquired North American distribution rights to a documentary chronicling the career of Boy George and the legendary band Culture Club and dropped the first trailer for the film. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026

Dooley is a former football coach and son of University of Georgia legendary coach Vince Dooley, of whom the field in Athens is now named. —Irene Wright, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026

In an era when being a touring band feels less like a rite of passage and more like an exercise in financial survival, one legendary Chicago hot dog stand is doing its part to keep the city rocking. —Jimmy Jellinek, SPIN, 27 Apr. 2026

The two actors talked about the challenges and benefits of working with legendary director Ritchie, who is known for making changes on the fly. —Amanda Champagne-Meadows, Deadline, 26 Apr. 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