stupendous

adjective

stu·​pen·​dous stu̇-ˈpen-dəs How to pronounce stupendous (audio)
styu̇-
1
: causing astonishment or wonder : awesome, marvelous
2
: of amazing size or greatness : tremendous
stupendously adverb
stupendousness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for stupendous

monstrous, prodigious, tremendous, stupendous mean extremely impressive.

monstrous implies a departure from the normal (as in size, form, or character) and often carries suggestions of deformity, ugliness, or fabulousness.

the monstrous waste of the project

prodigious suggests a marvelousness exceeding belief, usually in something felt as going far beyond a previous maximum (as of goodness, greatness, intensity, or size).

made a prodigious effort and rolled the stone aside

tremendous may imply a power to terrify or inspire awe.

the tremendous roar of the cataract

stupendous implies a power to stun or astound, usually because of size, numbers, complexity, or greatness beyond description.

a stupendous volcanic eruption

Example Sentences

a person with stupendous wealth the stupendous engineering feats achieved by the ancient Romans
Recent Examples on the Web Teams struggle for profit, yet the entrance fee is a stupendous $500 million. Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2023 Now, with the airing of episode 7 of Succession’s stupendous fourth and final season, the damage is officially irreversible. Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 9 May 2023 Across town, a stupendous assortment of gallery shows, museum exhibitions and fairs demonstrate why no one does art like New York does art. Chadd Scott, Forbes, 7 May 2023 In the last few months, I’ve been obsessed with Peña’s Bakery in Oakland, the panaderia where Briones makes her stupendous tortas. Cesar Hernandez, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 May 2023 Rachel Heng's stupendous novel follows Ah Boon Lee, a young boy growing up in a rural fishing village in Singapore. The Editors, townandcountrymag.com, 6 Apr. 2023 In February and March alone, retail spending rose at a remarkably strong 6.6%, putting average retail sales for the first quarter some 14.3% above the first quarter last year before the pandemic lockdowns began, a stupendous bound in any environment. Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 6 May 2021 This satisfies our craving for the stupendous. Sasha Frere-jones, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Nov. 2022 Oh my God this drone shot is stupendous. Mike Wehner, BGR, 9 Mar. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stupendous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin stupendus, gerundive of stupēre

First Known Use

1618, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of stupendous was in 1618

Dictionary Entries Near stupendous

Cite this Entry

“Stupendous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupendous. Accessed 8 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

stupendous

adjective
stu·​pen·​dous st(y)u̇-ˈpen-dəs How to pronounce stupendous (audio)
: amazing especially because of great size or height
stupendous gorges
stupendously adverb
stupendousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on stupendous

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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